THIS month two more polio cases were reported in Pakistan, taking the total up to 72. At the moment, the highest number of cases reported were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — 53, followed by eight in Sindh, five Punjab and six in Balochistan.

The major causes so far, in my opinion, are parents who refuse to get their children vaccinated in routine drives. In some cases, I hear, parents even hide their children or pretend that no one is around when polio workers go on the door-to-door drive.

This is dangerous behaviour, mostly because these parents aren’t just hurting their own children but also those who interact with them on a daily basis.

Some parents do this because they fear the vaccine has expired or will have a negative impact on their children. We need to work on their perception of the vaccine.

We need to get religious leaders and elders on the polio campaign so people understand that the vaccine is good for their children, not harmful.

Otherwise, I fear that we may never get rid of this crippling disease.

Abdul Waheed
Kech

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2019