It is very unfortunate that polio workers are once again in line of fire in the KP province, where the polio cases have staged resurgence with as many as 14 cases in recent months.  Two cops who were on duty of guarding a polio team which was administering polio drops to children Tank district of KP during the ongoing polio vaccination campaign across the country, were shot dead in brutal manner.

Obviously the purpose of the attack is to deter the polio teams from working in the tribal areas where polio has reemerged with full forces and is spreading like a wild fire. Earlier, two cops and a health worker were murdered  last month in North Waziristan which has also emerged as epicenter of the new polio cases in the country. Despite this fearful situation, the vaccinators have pledged to  go ahead with their mission and go door to door to reach out to maximum number of children. It may be recalled here that around seventy-two polio workers and security men on duty to guard polio teams have been killed in KP province, mostly in tribal areas and till now the killers have not been traced in majority of the cases which is a lamentable aspect. This situation can deter the polio workers from performing their duties and as such there is a need for special security arrangements and deployment of special teams so that the fear of attacks on polio workers can be done away with.

The irony is that polio which was about to be eradicated completely from the country has made a strong comeback with as many as 13 cases reported across the country mainly from the KP province. As many as eight of these cases have taken place in Mir Ali and Miranshah of North Waziristan tribal areas  which is close to Afghan border, while health experts have warned that all southern districts of the KP province are also at high-risk as the danger of contracting this virus has been looming large in these areas, from where the disease can also transmit to other parts of the country as well. There are various factors for the resurgence of this deadly and crippling disease and foremost being the denial by parents to vaccinate their children against this deadly virus. In fact, it is parents who are putting their young ones at risk of lifelong disabilities by exhibiting such an irresponsible behaviour. The irony is that not only the illiterate parents are refusing to vaccinate their children, in some cases educated parents too were found reluctant to administer polio vaccine to their children, as they are being misguided by the conspiracies theories being hatched by the extremists against vaccines drives in the country.

The latest case was reported from Lakki Marwat when an 18-month-old child was paralysed by wild poliovirus (WPV) in Lakki Marwat as confirmed by National Institute of Health. The situation is becoming alarming and one is really saddened by this disappointing development as our country was very close to totally eradicate this disease as last year, only one case was reported and we were about to achieve the status of a polio-free country, but that could not happen due to  the irresponsible behavior of the parents who refused to vaccinate their children. In fact, there was steady decline in the number of polio patients in recent years which can be gauged from the fact that only on case eighty was reported in the country last year as compared to 147 cases in 2019 and eighty-four in 2020.  One is really concerned over the sudden and high number of polio patients from the tribal districts and since the KP people freely move across the country, the other parts of the country are also at risk. In the wake of critical situation, the Government has also sprang into action and has come up with the idea of injectable vaccines to be used from now on during vaccination drives in KP province.  The government has already started providing injectable vaccines to polio teams in the KP southern areas with a view to controlling the transmission of the virus.  It is also good to note that the new form i.e., injectable vaccines has been well accepted in the KP  because some parents thought that polio drops were  not safe but they have welcomed the injectable form of the vaccine. In a nutshell, the reemergence of the polio cases in big number points to national emergency and as such emergent steps are required to nip the evil in the bud. The ongoing polio drive is going to be completed on August 24 and to make it successful, the government must come up with emergent steps to ensure that the polio workers are safe from the onslaught of the militants and the campaign is completed successfully so each and every child get the polio drops which are a matter of life for them.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 19 2022

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.