Daily Times

As the number of polio cases rises every month in Pakistan, so is the support of the donors and the international community. The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership led by the government of Pakistan, has valuable partners such as the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Rotary International and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite a bad year on the polio front, Pakistan has secured more aid from the donors. According to the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, four polio cases were reported on July 7 from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) making the toll 41, of them the major share is of KP – 33 cases. Three cases have been reported from Punjab, three from Sindh and two cases from Balochistan.

The polio programme management sees the sudden spike in cases this year not an unusual phenomenon – the number looks higher only when compared to the past years’. Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Babar Bin Ata says data on polio vaccinations has been manipulated over the past few years. He is doubtful about the actual number of children vaccinated in the past polio campaigns. He justifies his stance, saying that wherever 95 percent of the children were vaccinated against the polio, that country attained the status of a polio-free country. He is right that the vaccination, the most effective weapon against the deadly poliovirus, has helped the whole world get rid of poliovirus. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan are left with the virus, and coincidentally, in both countries, propaganda against the vaccination goes unchecked. In the past, the polio programme reported vaccination of 99 percent of the children in every campaign and in January 2019, data showed that 101 percent of the children were vaccinated. Had these reports been true, we would not have faced these 41 instances of shame this year.

Who is responsible for such deadly data flaws? Of course, the incumbent management has to accept the responsibility. The management, however, should also be lauded for detecting the glaring fact, and now working to fix it as Babar Bin Atta says they have planned a new strategy to restrict the virus to core reservoir of Peshawar. This can only happen when we will have trusted, accurate data on vaccination. So far underpaid and overworked vaccination field staff has done their job well, braving harsh weather and, in certain areas, stiff public opposition. Propaganda on social media against the polio vaccine also left a toll on the campaign. The incumbent management should also be lauded for reaching out to giant sites and convincing them to remove such poisonous content. Hopefully, the new venture – Polio Tahafuz Helpline – will also help government convince the reluctant parents to understand that polio vaccine is in the best interest of their children. *