Daily Times

This week, Pakistan launched its third nationwide polio vaccination campaign with the hopes of the nth time finally being the charm and protecting over 45 million children under the age of five against a life-changing paralytic disease. With reports of the 42nd case in this year alone, a drastic surge from last year’s six and a heartening single child afflicted in 2021, the authorities knew that they could not sit back and let the menacing dragon roar any louder. The polio crisis in Pakistan has become a serious and alarming issue that demands immediate attention and action from everyone. However, just one day into the extensive national campaign, unidentified gunmen stormed into a health office in Orakzai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and opened fire on a policeman accompanying the polio team. His tragic death marked the suspension of the drive in the district, which must have given great joy to militant groups actively portraying the life-saving drops as a Western conspiracy to sterilise children. That the direness of our straits, especially as international donors seem to be getting frustrated with the colossal failure, has done little to spark a greater sense of civic duty in us is a befitting microcosm of our country.

As Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, remain the only remaining hotspots, countries around the world have started becoming sceptical of the Draconian sword hanging over their security. Although rare, any discovery of virus clusters elsewhere triggers months of strict scrutiny for Pakistani travellers, who have previously been required to show proof of their immunisation. We have spent numerous years investing more in polio eradication than the entire immunisation program. Seeing it not work out means it is high time the experts return to the drawing board and develop a new strategy. Perhaps, greater results could be achieved if the polio programme is rolled out as a part of a strengthened immunisation protocol instead of a rigid vertical.

The government’s commitment to addressing the issue deserves special recognition, given the long list of challenges it faces. Factors such as misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and insufficient funding and resources have all contributed to the ongoing presence of polio in the country.

Greater support and protection for health authorities to work closely with the locals under a centralised, feedback-based system may help boost the numbers, but lasting change would still remain a distant dream unless everyone understands that the responsibility of eradicating polio does not solely lie with the state but also with the community at large. *