Last Anti-Polio Vaccination Campaign Of The Year Begins In Pakistan As Cases Rise In The Country

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two remaining countries that have not been able to stop the spread of poliovirus. Since January 2024, Pakistan has reported as many as 63 confirmed cases of polio.

Anti-polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan: Earlier this week, India's neighbouring country Pakistan began its last nationwide polio vaccination drive before the end of the year, amid a surge in cases of poliovirus. According to news reports, the country intends to protect as many as 45 million children from polio, with new cases threatening to dampen the efforts of the local bodies trying to stop the spread of the disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), poliomyelitis or polio is a 'highly infectious' viral disease that largely affects children under the age of five. The virus is usually transmitted through the faecal-oral route from one person to another. Less frequently, it also spreads through contaminated water or food. Once inside the body, it can multiply in the intestine, travel to the nervous system and cause paralysis.

Currently, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two remaining countries that have not been able to stop the spread of the dangerous, paralysing, and potentially-fatal virus, per the World Health Organization. News reports suggest that since January 2024, Pakistan has reported as many as 63 confirmed cases of polio.

Pakistan prime minister's adviser for the polio eradication program Ayesha Raza Farooq said the anti-polio vaccination drive will go on till December 22, 2024, appealing to the people of the country to 'open their doors for health workers'.

The reason why cases of polio continue to be seen in Pakistan is that militants claim all vaccination campaigns are a conspiracy of the Western world to sterilise Pakistani children, which is entirely false. As such, there is violence against medical personnel who oversee inoculation drives, with security forces escorting them and ensuring these campaigns are regularly launched and carried out successfully.

According to an Independent report, thousands of police officers were deployed this week to protect healthcare workers. But, despite such a level of protection, gunmen opened fire on police escorting polio workers in Karak in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday. A police officer was killed and a health worker was reportedly wounded.

In September this year, the United Nations (UN) had announced the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan has stopped polio vaccination campaigns in the country. International media called it a 'devastating setback' for the eradication of polio.