THIS is with reference to the report “Pakistan’s tally reaches 40 on the eve of Polio Day” (Oct 24). In the early 19th century, a small number of patients were reported to be positive for poliovirus in the medical literature, but by the middle of the 20th century, poliovirus could be found everywhere. With no cure and rising numbers, there was an utter need for a vaccine. In 1955, the first-ever polio drops were invented by Dr Jonas Salk in the United States. Today, Pakistan only has the company of Afghanistan as the countries that are still not polio-free.

Since the launch of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP) back in 1994, there has been a significant decline in polio cases from nearly 20,000 in the early 1990s to eight cases in 2018, and then just one case in 2021. But then the tide turned and the numbers have been on the rise in the last couple of years.

If Pakistan, with its meagre resources, old tools and fewer staff, performed well for almost two decades, it is tragic that a polio-free Pakistan appears to be a distant dream now.

Polio is a holistically preventable disease. It can be eradicated only when obscurantism is extirpated. Unfortunately, many children are still missing out on the polio vaccine due to their parents’ misi-nformed reluctance, often stemming from a lack of education.

Every child in every household must be vaccinated. It is not possible to vaccinate all the unvaccinated children overnight. The task requires long-term planning, more funds and greater efforts by the relevant agencies.

The government must launch country-wide awareness campaigns to educate the people against the perils of poliovirus, and hire more police officials for the protection of polio workers. Moreover, there should be complete immunisation of Afghan refugees against the virus. Only through sincere efforts, unity and collaboration among polio workers and local folks can we secure a healthy, safe and, more critically, polio-free Pakistan.

Ahmad Malick
Lahore

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2024