Minha Rana
Zehra Zaidi
This was achieved over nearly three decades of sustained effort. In 1994, the country recorded 25,000 cases of polio. Despite incredible progress, and an expanded immunization program that operates with the help of a network of nearly 230,000 workers to help vaccinate 33.4 million children under the age of five in over 100 districts simultaneously, Pakistan seemed take several steps back, especially in 2014, and then again in 2017. It is a massive undertaking, one that requires a colossal amount of coordination, transparency and ownership for it to work properly. It finally seems to have paid off, with cases reducing from 84 in the year prior, to 0 this year.
In a media inter-action, Dr Faisal Sultan, Special Adviser to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health spoke of Pakistan being close to complete eradication of poliovirus. He said that Pakistan has made significant improvements in polio surveillance and that the best strategy is to control the virus through sustained vaccination campaigns. Despite Covid since early 2020, Pakistan’s polio program has registered big success through excellent campaigns.
During his visit to Dera Ismail Khan[ii] in the northwestern Khyber Pakthunkhwa province, he said that no polio case was reported during the last one year but there were still effects of poliovirus in the environment. All resources were being utilised for its complete elimination, he added.
“We are close to eradicating polio. The government is already taking steps to address the legitimate demands and grievances of the people, so do not make these demands conditional with anti-polio vaccinations as anti-polio vaccines are also in public interest,” said Dr Faisal.[iii] “There are challenges due to mobile/hard to reach populations in this area but I found a super committed set of senior administrators, polio staff and our partners in this work. The goal will be achieved inshallah,” he concluded.
The special assistant encouraged parents to get their children administered and cooperate with the polio teams.
“These people are the real heroes and I want to salute them for the jobs they do,[iv] Dr.Faisal Sultan said.
This year’s first polio immunisation campaign started across the country on January 24, 2022. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over 3.4 million children would be inoculated against polio during the campaign. Prime Minister Imran Khan also thanked the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in bringing down polio cases in Pakistan. He assured to take relative measures to wipe polio off the map.
Pakistan is finally in a position to say a much-awaited goodbye to the menace of polio, provided the authorities do not get complacent. “We be polio-free by 2023,” promised SAPM Dr Faisal Sultan.
Minha Rana is an International Relations graduate, passionate about climate change, public health and gender equality.
Zehra Zaidi is an International Development graduate passionate about highlighting issues of marginalized communities in the society .
