REPORTS this week of multiple polio cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have dealt a blow to the polio eradication campaign in the country, sounding the alarm for a polio emergency. Five new cases in KP have taken the tally of reported cases in the first six months of 2019 to an astounding 32 — a major setback from 2018 and 2017 which saw annual totals of 12 and eight cases respectively. Of the cases this year, KP has reported the highest at 18, signalling challenges in the polio vaccination drive across the province. Officials said the crisis is a result of refusals and hesitation on the basis of misconceptions about vaccination — notions due to which a large number of children stay exposed to the crippling poliovirus and are in danger of suffering from lifelong disabilities.

The rise in reported polio cases this year is devastating, for the simple reason that polio is a vaccine-preventable disease which has largely been eliminated everywhere in the world — with the exception of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Even a single child infected with the poliovirus can lead to other children contracting the disease, especially in areas of poor sanitation. In fact, the poliovirus can easily be imported into a polio-free country and can spread rapidly amongst unimmunised populations. After our government renewed efforts to eradicate the virus in 2015, a sharp decline was witnessed in reported cases in the following years — with only eight in 2017. But statistics from the past two years and the recent cases show that the virus continues to exist in Pakistan and that it is a matter which requires dramatic action from the government. The responsibility should be assumed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who ought to declare a polio emergency and take charge of the campaign. Mr Khan must send a clear message about the urgency to eliminate the virus. He should be seen by citizens across all provinces as the driving force behind the eradication campaign. The subject of health is one that is close to the prime minister’s heart, as he has campaigned passionately for the cause. From building a cancer hospital to highlighting the issue of malnutrition in his inaugural address as prime minister, Mr Khan has shown a commitment to the physical well-being of Pakistanis. He must assume the mantle of spearheading the polio campaign to give our future generations a fighting chance and free them from the burden of an incurable, lifelong disability.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2019