Is this a lawless tribal area or Taliban have given a fatwa against polio vaccination here? It's a pity that journalists who always raise voice for others rights, their own children remain deprived of protection against the crippling disease. It also discloses how capable and committed are government and international organization toward the goal of a polio-free society.I was shocked to read a report in The News today according to which Media Town, a residential colony of Rawalpindi-Islamabad journalists has become a no man's land because of jurisdiction tussle between various federal and provincial authorities.
According to The News: Media Town, a developing housing society along PWD Road, comprises nearly 50 houses with residents while almost the same number of under-construction houses are being used by families of laborers for residence. However, none of the health authorities has ever visited the town for administering anti-polio vaccine to children staying there.
It is important that missing of a single child under immunization drives for months amounts to give room to spread of polio in the region. In case of Media Town, the more alarming fact is that the area houses a number of children having origin in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and on the basis of it, the area should be declared high-risk area, it said.
The current vaccination drive this week was marred by the killing of nine health workers administering polio vaccine drops to 1-5 years old children.
Pakistan has reported 56 polio cases this year. There were 198 cases in 2011.
Parents who refuse to allow their children to be vaccinated are influenced by rumours and conspiracy theories that the vaccine is made from pig fat and other substances which will make the children impotent and sterile as Western countries want to reduce Muslim population in the world.
More than 3.5 million Pakistani children missed polio vaccine during the current campaign this week.
More than 14.9 million children were vaccinated with the oral polio vaccine during the last polio campaign of the year even after the polio campaign was aborted in different parts of the country as a result of killing of nine health workers associated with the polio immunization in the country.
Dr. Elias Durry, The Senior Coordinator of the World Health Organization for Polio Eradication in Pakistan said that out of a total target of 18.5 million for the last polio round, 14.9 million children were vaccinated throughout the country resulting in over 3.5 million children missed during the campaign.
“WHO and all the partners in polio eradication salute the bravery of thousands of polio team members in the country who performed their duties in the line of fire to reach the 14.9 million children during the last polio round”. He said.
Sharing details, he stated that according to Central Polio Control Room Report a large number of 1,756,936 number of children were only missed in Sindh after polio campaign was called off by the Government of Sindh on Tuesday after unknown gunmen killed 4 female polio team members in Karachi, the business capital.
In KPK, it was shared that 707,319 children were missed as a result of early suspension of the polio campaign in the province on Wednesday when similar targeted attacks resulted in the death of three polio team members on the same day including a female team member on Tuesday.
In Punjab, 831,075 children remained unvaccinated, however the WHO Official shared that some major cities of Punjab started the polio campaign one day late and data was still awaited from these cities of the province and it was expected that the number of missed children in Punjab will considerably decrease. “We expect the number of missed children in Punjab to decrease in the next day or so.” He shared.
The report further shared that 79,825 children in FATA, 124,205 in Balochistan and 2,300 children in the federal capital also remained unvaccinated due to unavailability of children in their homes. “The reason for missed children in parts other than KPK and Sindh are not linked with targeted attacks on polio teams and includes reasons like unavailable children when the house was approached by a polio team”. Shared Dr. Durry.
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