THERE is no denying the fact that Pakistan has waged a sustained war against polio and at a time when it was close to eliminating the disease altogether, polio cases are once again rising in parts of the country. Unfortunately, detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases has raised Pakistan’s total polio cases to 45 this year. This report by Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) comes in the backdrop of recurring attacks on polio teams and security personnel accompanying them during the vaccination campaign.
The frequency with which the anti-polio campaigns are launched has no precedent in the country for such drives against other fatal diseases like TB and hepatitis. The successive governments left no stone unturned in their bid to make Pakistan polio free and for this purpose they successfully enlisted support and cooperation of some prestigious global organizations. However, regrettably, Pakistan and Afghanistan are only two countries of the globe where polio is still a formidable threat. A breakdown of the report of the NIH shows polio cases have increased in regions and provinces where resistance to vaccination is known to all. Out of 45 cases in Pakistan, Balochistan has the largest share (22) despite its thin population, Sindh (12), KP (9) and Punjab and Islamabad one each. As for the Government, it is doing its best but there is no matching response from parents, the society, political and religious leaders, tribal elders, feudal and Sardars, who command respect and influence in different segments of the society and regions. In view of widely-held misconceptions about polio vaccination and repeated attacks on polio teams, it will be worthwhile if elected leadership of the areas are entrusted with the charge of anti-polio campaigns and release of development funds for a constituency should be linked to success of such campaigns.
