KARACHI: A climate of fear has gripped HPV vaccination teams after two violent attacks in just three days, prompting health workers to demand police protection and citing safety concerns and the threat of further violence as major barriers to carrying out the critical campaign.
Repeated attacks have instilled fear in teams who are working to protect adolescent girls from cervical cancer, with health workers emphasising that without adequate police protection, their essential work cannot continue to move forward.
A team of female health workers was attacked on Saturday while administering Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines at a non-formal education school in the village of Ratuwal. The assault came just two days after a similar incident in the same district.
In the latest attack, a 55-year-old resident entered the school and attempted to assault a female health supervisor.
The suspect “tried to attack the supervisor with a stick and by lifting a chair, threatened serious consequences and used foul language,” said Sabir Iqbal Sindhu, the Station House Officer of Kathian Sheikhan police.
“The sudden attack caused a stampede in the school, and the vaccination process had to be stopped immediately,” he added.
Health Supervisor Shamim Anjum said that she and her team were forced to leave the school to save their lives. She filed a police report after the incident.
However, Ms Anjum said an earlier promise of security from officials was not met. “The assurance of security given by the provincial health minister on the first incident of September 25 has not been fulfilled yet, and no practical action has been taken by the police,” she said.
Police have registered a case on the complaint under sections 186 and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code, covering obstruction of a public servant and criminal intimidation. They said action has been initiated against the suspect, who will be arrested soon.
The previous attack occurred Thursday in Mandi Bahauddin’s Chak No 38, where a woman on a vaccination team was beaten up by locals.
Following that incident, Punjab’s provincial health minister, Khawaja Imran Nazeer, had taken notice and issued instructions to provide security to the health workers.
They say that order was never implemented. When contacted by a reporter, Mandi Bahauddin’s Chief Executive Officer of Health declined to comment and hung up the phone.
The HPV vaccine is being rolled out nationwide. The effort has been challenged by vaccine hesitancy driven by misinformation, safety concerns, and a mistrust of authorities.
The first phase of the campaign ended on Sept 27, with the goal of vaccinating 90 per cent of girls aged 9-14 in Punjab and other territories by the end of 2025.
The programme is set to expand to other provinces in 2026 and 2027.
Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2025