The fact that only one case of polio was reported in the country last year is no mean feat. Pakistan’s decades long fight against the crippling disease of polio and the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 has been hailed by Bill Gates, co-chairman of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. With this development, the country has recorded a major victory in the fight against the disease. The developed states fight against the pandemics and child disease through the help of medication and vaccines. But in Pakistan, the situation becomes tough during the fight against a pandemic or any contagious disease. Vaccines become a real target of propaganda mongers who spread false theories associated with the treatment.
In Pakistan, any immunisation programme is opposed on account of the extremists’ propaganda that it is a design by Western countries to render Muslims infertile or even can cause a major risk to their lives. Conservative views, extremists’ propaganda, flat refusal and migration by parents are other major factors that contribute to the failure of the complete eradication of the disease like polio and COVID-19. Along with launching of immunisation campaigns, Pakistan needs such an infrastructure to change the prevailing mindset in society that becomes a major hindrance in freeing the country from those diseases whose cure is possible through vaccines. Such trenchant opposition was responsible for the prolonged hiatus in combating the disease of polio, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. After Nigeria declared itself polio-free, only Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to struggle for the eradication of this crippling disease that can result in lifelong paralysis.
With the help of UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other groups, the effort is now paying off comparatively fast. However, the disease is still a challenge and a lot more needs to be done to purge the country of the polio virus. While the state’s commitment to fighting polio is encouraging, it is not enough to just initiate vaccination drives. There has to be a campaign to spread awareness about polio and other diseases. The government and people from all walks of life must do their part in the war against diseases that are curable.
