ISLAMABAD: Tension gripped health officials in the federal capital on Thursday morning as TV channels began reporting that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had decided to suspend anti-polio operations in Balochistan.

But by the early afternoon, this tension had mutated into full-blown panic as it dawned on healthcare officials that the polio campaign and other health-related activities cannot be continued without WHO collaboration.

However, by the evening, WHO officially announced that it had not closed down or withdrawn from operations in Balochistan. But the vaguely worded statement did little to allay the fears of health officials.

The rumours began circulating after four polio workers, including three women, were killed and three others injured when gunmen opened fire on a team of vaccinators near Quetta’s Eastern Bypass.

Rumours of WHO ending operations emerged after deadly attack on vaccinators in Quetta

An official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) said that after the incident in Quetta, rumours began spreading on Wednesday that WHO might shut down the anti-polio effort in Balochistan.

“On Thursday morning, news channels fuelled a panic in health departments because hundreds of thousands of people are working directly or indirectly under the WHO and a successful polio campaign is nearly impossible without its cooperation,” he said.

“I believe that the reports were not completely baseless because WHO did take the whole day to clarify that it has not stopped operations in Balochistan,” he said.

Meanwhile, WHO Country Head Dr Michel Thieren, in an official statement issued on Thursday evening, said that WHO had not closed operations or withdrawn its staff from Balochistan or elsewhere in Pakistan.

“WHO has applied a standard and routine measure to limit its staff and contractor’s exposure to any unsettled security situation. Such measure intends to take the needed time to analyse in depth the event and its aftermath, and to explore working environment ahead of a prompt reversal of the measure taken,” Dr Thieren said.

“WHO would take this opportunity to extend its grievance and sympathy to the families of the victims and wish to reiterate its continued support towards polio eradication in Pakistan,” the statement concludes.

An official of the NHS ministry said that while the WHO statement clearly indicated that it had taken measures to protect its staff and contractors, “we believe that the polio campaign will not be disturbed in Balochistan because of the recent incident”.

However, Ayesha Raza, the prime minister’s focal person on polio eradication, told a different story. Talking to Dawn, she said that following the violence in Quetta, the polio campaign was temporarily suspended to allow the government to re-strategise and improve the security of polio workers.

“I spoke to the Balochistan chief secretary on Thursday and he told me that after beefing up security, the polio campaign has been restarted in the province,” she said.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2014