ISLAMABAD: After facing embarrassment over a monitoring body’s recent report stating that the polio programme had become a “political football” in Pakistan, the PTI-led federal government announced on Saturday the formation of a group constituting representatives from leading political parties to ensure polio eradication becomes collective responsibility of other parties-led provincial governments.

“The broad-based body National Strategic Advisory Group [NSAG] has been constituted in consultation with Prime Minister Imran Khan and will be led by Special Assistant to Prime Minister [SAPM] on Health Dr Zafar Mirza. It includes former focal person on polio in PPP-led government Shahnaz Wazir Ali, former focal person on polio in PML-N-led government Ayesha Raza Farooq and former Pakistan Permanent Representative at the UN Zamir Akram,” said Dr Rana Safdar, Polio Coordinator National Emergency Operation Centre for Polio.

“Other members include Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Health Khalid Magsi of the Balochistan Awami Party, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services Dr Nosheen Hamid and PTI lawmaker from Sindh Assembly Dr Sanjay Gangwani,” he added.

The International Monitoring Board published its report titled The Art of Survival: The poliovirus continues to exploit human frailties which explained in detail how the polio eradication programme had turned into a political football in the country. “The Polio Programme remains particularly susceptible in areas where the power structure is divided between different political parties. For example, Karachi, a city of 22 million people, is a longstanding ruling haven of the poliovirus. The PPP controls the provincial government, whilst the city government has largely been disempowered; it is run by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a regional political rival. The PTI, of course, governs at the federal level. It manages the overall polio vaccination effort. This fragmentation of power can lead to problems in efficiently carrying out vaccination campaigns.”

National Strategic Advisory Group set up in consultation with PM

There has been extreme concern internationally as polio remains ende­mic in Pakistan besides Afghanistan with a dramatic increase in the number of polio cases in Pakistan this year.

Five more polio cases were reported on Friday, increasing the number of cases to 91. Last year, the number of confirmed cases stood at eight for Pakistan.

“We cannot afford to continue losing our children because of diseases that the rest of the world has effectively controlled through well-organised collective efforts,” said Dr Safdar.

“The NSAG could be a game-changer and would help in overcoming several challenges that our health sector faces in general and polio eradication in particular,” he added.

SAPM on Health Dr Mirza reappointed Dr Safdar on Nov 10 as the polio coordinator.

Giving more details about NSAG, Dr Safdar told Dawn, “We will also focus on routine immunisation as 20,000 children are born in Pakistan daily due to which immunity level is diluted if they are not vaccinated. We will build the team again as it disintegrated in the last one year.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2019