THE first polio drive of the new year in KP is set to vaccinate 7.2m children. This drive is crucial, because all the 20 polio cases recorded last year were from KP. The immunisation drive is taking place in the shadow of increased militancy across the country. In 2022, during the vaccination campaigns, seven policemen and as many health workers were gunned down by militants. In the 16 drives that took place in the province, up to 42,000 officers were deployed for the protection of the vaccination teams. On 14 occasions, the teams came under violent attack.
These realities, as well as the upswing in terror attacks, mean that authorities will have to be extra vigilant and also engage as many faith and community leaders as possible to ensure maximum cooperation. It is a sad fact that Pakistan is one of the two countries in the world where polio is still endemic, the second one being Afghanistan. There is no doubt that successive governments have worked hard to eradicate the crippling virus, and that billions of dollars have been poured into the drive. But many of the misconceptions against vaccination still exist. There are still families that harbour the false belief that polio drops will render their children infertile, and that vaccination campaigns are part of a ‘Western conspiracy’. Some families simply refuse because they are ignorant about how the drops work to protect their children. Another tragic chapter in the polio vaccination story is that health workers, in collusion with parents, have made finger markings, denoting a child’s inoculated status, without actually administering the drops. Such practices are not common, but still mean that some children are not immunised and can contract polio. All these factors underscore how important both security arrangements and community engagement are when it comes to an effective polio vaccination campaign. Pakistan made some significant gains, and then regressed. However, with more vaccination campaigns, ramped-up security and continued efforts to involve the community, a polio-free Pakistan is possible.
Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2023
