Who is protecting polio workers?

Author: Daily Times

Pakistan has come a long way in the battle against polio. After all, it was as recently as 2014 that the country was put on notice by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as being one of three nations that exported the crippling virus. It stood in bad company with Syria and Cameroon; and those travelling in and out of the country had to provide documentation of immunisation.

Nevertheless, Pakistan’s healthcare professionals, oftentimes with the children’s charity UNICEF playing a supporting role, have worked long and hard to eradicate this unnecessary disease. In fact, as of 2016, KP has not had a single recorded incident of polio making a provincial comeback.

That being said, anti-polio drives in Pakistan continue to be a hazardous affair. There have already been several attacks this year on healthcare workers seeking to immunise local communities. The latest one came at the end of last week in Mohmand Agency whereby unidentified men opened-fire on a seven-member polio team; killing two and abducting the remaining five. Thus far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Prior to that, back in January, a mother and daughter team were gunned down on the outskirts of Quetta. The family have said that the pair had not been provided with security.

Yet instead of highlighting the issue of protection, the top leadership of the country — across political divides — has resorted to the usual practice of praising those who have ‘sacrificed’ their lives for the greater good and other assorted clichés. And in placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of the “enemies of Pakistan”, they have effectively and efficiently absolved themselves of all responsibility.

Meaning that after any such incident of violence directed towards government workers conducting a government sanctioned healthcare programme, the very least the Centre ought to do is to probe security lapses. After all, it was not so long ago that the Army was tasked with escorting anti-polio teams as the latter carried out their duties.

To date, Pakistan, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, remains a country of concern on the polio front. And while the latter reported no new incidents of the virus for all of 2017 — Islamabad and Kabul were hit with 8 and 13 cases, respectively. Thus while this country has made incredible gains on the eradication front, we are not out of the woods yet. And security must once again be placed at the centre of such drives.  *

Published in Daily Times, March 21st 2018.

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