THERE is no end to the self-created sufferings of Pakistanis young and old.

A report says some 440,000 Pakistanis under the age of five have not received the polio vaccination — not even a single dose of it.

The data has been gathered by the emergency operations centre in Sindh, the province securing a shameful second position on the list by showing 75,000 children who have remained out of the reach of the vaccination teams.

Also read: Over 75,000 children in Sindh never received polio vaccine

This is shocking especially given the interest that the PPP’s young scions of the Bhutto-Zardari line, have been expressing in the anti-polio drive in Sindh.

At the top of the chart, Balochistan is a story unto itself: Some quarter of a million children under the age of five have not been vaccinated against the crippling disease.

The provincial government in Quetta, which claims to have a wider, deeper base among the people, must be as vigilant against the perils posed by polio as it is against any other existing danger.

It is sad but not at all unexpected to find Fata and KP featuring prominently in this ignominious gallery. Punjab is an exception, but while it stands out, the current situation demands it does not become complacent. It must pursue the anti-polio drive vigorously.

Figures showing the prevalence of polio in various areas and data on the number of children who have not been covered by the vaccination programme do lead to some routine analyses.

Quite frequently, and with a lot of logic, it is pointed out that the situation varies from province to province and thus figures about the number of immunised might not be sufficient to project gains or lack of them in a particular area. It can also be argued that whereas these figures might have been gathered over a period of time, of late, the effort against polio has picked up speed, in the face of whatever threats there have been.

The rules haven’t changed. A lot of energy must still go into making the drive successful.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2015

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