Polio awareness campaign needs special attention

Pakistan had come a long way in its struggle to eradicate polio. In the early 1990s, the annual incidence of polio was estimated at more than 20 000 cases a year. Since its initiation in 1994, the national polio eradication program made major strides in reaching children with immunization in all parts of the country. The number of cases had declined from 306 in 2014 to 54 in 2015, 20 in 2016, 8 in 2017, and 12 in 2018. However, in 2019 the program witnessed a significant spread of the virus and reported 144 polio cases across all provinces. So far in 2020, 7 cases have been reported from various provinces. Despite help from UNICEF and donors, polio virus cases are once again increasing. The government and NGOs should therefore pay special attention to polio awareness campaign with a view to countering propaganda by misguided elements.
As stated above, the total number of polio cases across the country in 2019 had touched 144, including nine vaccine-derived cases, after two cases were reported in Upper and Lower Kohistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In spite of tall claims by the government and several anti-polio drives, there has been no let-up in the polio cases across the country, as five cases were reported in Sindh and KP. These two provinces are among the worst-affected regions, witnessing a spike over the recent months. In October 2019, poliovirus was found in the sample of a girl child in Tehsil Pattan of Kohistan. Her samples were sent to the national institute of health in Islamabad on October 27. Similarly, the same virus was found in a five-year-old girl child in Tehsil Dasu of Upper Kohistan. Three cases were recorded in Sindh and two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan is affected by ongoing endemic wild poliovirus transmission and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is focusing on reaching every last child in Pakistan with vaccines, strengthening surveillance and maintaining political commitment, financial resources and technical support at all levels. Announcing yet again, a three-month extension in temporary international travel restrictions on Pakistan, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended an urgent analysis of the startling increase in polio cases in Pakistan in order to understand the factors that have led to the most serious deterioration in polio eradication seen since 2014. Ever since June 2014, it is mandatory for travelers from Pakistan to produce a valid polio vaccination certificate to be able to embark on an international journey.
Pakistan is one of only 2 remaining countries in the world with ongoing wild poliovirus transmission, along with Afghanistan. WHO, with UNICEF and other key partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, supports the Government of Pakistan in polio eradication efforts to ensure that Pakistan achieves polio-free status.