Pakistan Polio vaccinations halted after killings amid panic over sterilisation conspiracy theories - The Telegraph
Pakistan Polio vaccinations halted after killings amid panic over sterilisation conspiracy theories - The Telegraph |
- Pakistan Polio vaccinations halted after killings amid panic over sterilisation conspiracy theories - The Telegraph
- Probe sought into govt’s ‘failure’ to eradicate polio - DAWN.com
- Pakistan's vaccination campaign suspended after worker killed - UPI.com
- Eradicating polio - The Nation
| Posted: 29 Apr 2019 09:29 AM PDT  Pakistan has suspended an anti-polio vaccination campaign after a health worker and two police were shot dead, and a social media health scare caused near hysteria. Unknown gunmen killed one health worker and two police guards in separate attacks in north eastern Pakistan, while fake claims that the vaccine was harmful started a panic among parents in the region. More than 25,000 children were admitted to hospital after false reports the vaccine was causing vomiting and fainting. A mob also burned down a health centre. Pakistani health officials had hoped to end the circulation of the virus this year, but recent months have seen a stubborn increase in cases, while samples show it is still in sewage in many cities. Conspiracy theories that polio drops are a Western plot to sterilise Muslims, or rumours they are harmful, have fed a small, but stubborn and occasionally violent resistance to vaccination. The CIA's use of a fake vaccination campaign to gather DNA samples in the hunt for Osama bin Laden added to suspicion.  Last week's panic saw at least 700,000 families refuse vaccination in Khyber Pakhtukhwa province alone, local media reported. Health officials halted the most recent vaccination drive late last week because an "uncertain and threatening situation for the frontline polio workers has emerged and we need to save the programme from a further major damage" an order said. Post campaign monitoring was also stopped. Polio officials are now deciding how to adapt the campaign, which currently takes place in nationwide drives every six weeks. The high frequency aims to ensure no children are missed, but officials say it also frustrates parents who are being asked to give their children drops up to 10 times a year. More infrequent vaccination drives, perhaps once a quarter could be one proposal. A new nationwide information campaign is also likely to be launched to fight misconceptions about the vaccinations. Poliomyelitis is on the cusp of eradication, with the wild virus only found in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Last year there were 33 cases, down from 350,000 annual cases when the global eradication drive began in 1988. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security  |
| Probe sought into govt’s ‘failure’ to eradicate polio - DAWN.com Posted: 29 Apr 2019 07:30 PM PDT  PESHAWAR: MPA Advocate Khushdil Khan has sought independent inquiry into failure of the government to eradicate poliomyelitis despite spending millions of dollars in frequent vaccination campaigns since 1994. The Awami National Party MPA, belonging to the area where polio scare occurred on April 22, moved a call attention motion in the provincial assembly on Monday, asking for thorough debate on failure in eradication of polio despite flow of monetary and technical assistance from the UN and different organisations. A staunch supporter of polio vaccination, he said that it was important to eradicate the disease and safeguard the future of the children but there should be accountability to look into the reasons for complete failure. "I will seek reply from the government for not making us part of the inquiry held to probe Badbher incident despite our request. Keeping elected representatives aloof from the hot issue relating to their constituencies cast doubts on credibility of the programme," he said. The MPA said that they had undertaken research on polio to present full details about the programme run by bureaucracy without support of elected people, who could resolve the community level issues more comfortably. He added that there were genuine concerns of people regarding vaccination that needed to be addressed through elected representatives. "Our inability to eliminate the poliovirus is eroding Pakistan's credibility in the world. We need to resolve the problem and ensure vaccination of our children against polio and other children diseases," said Mr Khan. He said that new polio cases were being recorded that showed the performance of the authorities concerned, who were yet to achieve the target of eradication of virus in the programme. The ANP lawmaker, who is also a former deputy speaker, said that he would seek legislation on immunisation to be able to cover all target population in smooth manner. "The matter has briefly been silenced but not vanished yet. Opponents of polio vaccination reside in the area where Monday's polio scare took place so refusing vaccination will continue," he said. Mr Khan said that health department was totally responsible and should be held accountable for the lingering public health matter of polio the eradication of which had been declared a national cause. He said that opposition to polio vaccination was not a new issue but the lawmakers were ignored by government in the campaign carried out in the areas inhabited by their voters. "In the past, efficacy of polio vaccination was challenged in Peshawar High Court. There are same questions from people, who argue that who participated in the campaigns and provided funds for the campaign," said the MPA. He said that those issues could be handled amicably by elected representatives including MNAs, MPAs, nazims and councillors as they could prevail upon their electorates to administer drops to their children in a government programme to protect them from disabilities in case they remained unvaccinated. Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2019  |
| Pakistan's vaccination campaign suspended after worker killed - UPI.com Posted: 27 Apr 2019 05:48 PM PDT April 27 (UPI) -- The Pakistan government suspended its anti-polio campaign "for an indefinite period" on Friday after a vaccination worker and two security personnel were killed. The National Emergency Operation Center for polio asked all provinces to suspend the program, which includes vaccinations. "The uncertain and threatening situation for the front-line polio workers has emerged and we need to save the programme from a further major damage," said the letter obtained by The Hindu. Nasreen Bibi, 35, died after two men unloaded gunfire on a group of vaccinators standing in front of a home in Pakistan near the border of Afghanistan. "These are unfortunate incidents," Babar Atta, special adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, told The New York Times. "We have increased the security of vaccination teams across the country and are determined to end this crippling disease in Pakistan." The emergency center launched a campaign to vaccinate 39 million children under age 5 in Pakistan with anti-polio shots. While carrying out this work, vaccination workers have received threats and attacks from Islamist militants who believe the campaign is a foreign scheme to sterilize children in Pakistan. Pakistan authorities arrested Naz Gul earlier this month for undermining the vaccination campaign. In a viral video, he encourages children to act sick after taking the vaccine drops. "Creating scares and spreading 'fake news' about polio drops may serve vested interests, but it's dealing a major blow [to our country]," Yasmine Rashid, health minister for the Punjab Province in Pakistan, told CNN. On Monday, more than 25,000 children went to the hospital after complaining the drops made them ill. But Pakistani authorities say these reports of illness were staged and part of a propaganda campaign promoted by people pushing anti-vaccine messages. News of the hospitalizations led to unidentified gunmen shooting and killing security personnel assigned to protect a group of polio workers in northwest Pakistan. The shooting death of the vaccination worker followed, bringing the death toll to three. In light of these threats, the operations center has directed its 260,000 workers to stop giving polio vaccinations. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are only three countries to have failed to eradicate polio, according to the World Health Organization. Poliomyelitis, which is polio's formal name, is transmitted from person-to-person via the ingestion of contaminated feces, or through contaminated food. It is highly infectious and can cause permanent paralysis. Polio cases have decreased from more than 350,000 in 1988 to 22 reported cases in 2017 worldwide.  |
| Eradicating polio - The Nation Posted: 17 Apr 2019 12:00 AM PDT  The history of human beings being targeted by polio virus dates back to time unknown. It spreads mainly through saliva and stools and causes poliomyelitis in victims. Upon reaching the body the virus attacks nervous system and starts destroying nerve cells which control muscles. During the early 20th century it wreaked havoc in the United States and Europe. In 1952 around 58,000 cases were reported only in the US. Shortly afterwards scientists developed two types of polio vaccines i.e. IPV (Inactivated, given by injection) and OPV (weakened, given orally). Consequently much of the Europe along with the US and Australia managed to eradicate polio from their territories by 1988 with the World Health Assembly resolving to eliminate it from the Earth's surface by 2000. Sadly, this target couldn't be achieved even by 2019. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last countries in the world which have failed in achieving zero polio transmission. Pakistan has achieved a tremendous success in the last few years by bringing down the number of reported cases from 306 in 2014 to 12 in 2018. But this is not considered satisfactory as health experts are of the view that if spread of the virus isn't controlled immediately there could be a resurgence and the number of infections each year can rise to as high as 200,000 within a decade. To avert this danger, no effort should be spared in making the world polio-free. There are many impediments to eradicating polio from our country of which the greatest one is conspiracy theories. In developing of these we have almost a collective expertise. It is an incontrovertible fact that some people believe polio vaccination programs are part of a Western Plan which calls for controlling population growth among Muslims implying the drops cause sterility. Moreover, negligence by polio workers is also part of the problem. Many have been caught up while forging documents and wasting vaccines. It has also been observed that on some occasions Standard Operating Procedures are compromised during storing and transportation of vaccines. For effective immunization and elimination of the virus, vaccination of 100% of children population at the same time is vitally important, but internal and across the Pak-Afghan border movements along with other factors have made this exercise almost impossible. Some children already vaccinated with polio vaccines have reportedly been infected allegedly due to ineffective vaccines or their improper administration. This has led some folks into believing, even within educated class, that efficacy and adverse impacts of the vaccines are open to question. The vaccines require refrigeration which is quite difficult and challenging in our mostly hot climate. Government should come up with a comprehensive strategy which must help in overcoming all hurdles we face in fighting this crippling disease. First, clerics and the government need to be on the same page. Most of the people who are averse to vaccination have religious reasons and they would do what their prayer leaders may tell them to do. Thus all contemporary 'Pesh Imams' should be convinced via a systematic training that polio vaccines carry no harm and then, accordingly, should be directed to give sermons in their respective mosques in support of immunization besides declaring non-immunization of children a cardinal sin. Because such children can become a source of virus transmission and needless to say, putting lives of others at risk is a sinister vice. Second, polio workers carry out their assignments with outstanding courage as they serve soft targets for extremist elements. Many have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Additionally, not only are they paid low, they are also denied timely wages. Therefore, they should be provided with tight security and adequate remuneration for their work. Third, polio workers should undergo professional training with reference to full coverage of their specific areas and storage and handling of vaccines. Administration of ineffective vaccines in one area can render country wide campaign useless. Fourth, anti-polio campaigns should be launched simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan with the aim of vaccinating 100% of the target populations in both countries. This is due to the fact of cross border people movements which can lead to carriage of virus from one country into another even if one of them completely eradicates it. Fifth, there should be a strict monitoring system in place to oversee the performance of polio teams. Prompt action must be taken against those who are found negligent in discharging their responsibilities. In addition to that, help of mainstream media, social media activists, and civil society should also be sought in combating this potentially fatal virus. This winter we have seen polio workers going through waist-high snow with enormous difficulty to reach out to children in far flung mountainous areas. That speaks volume of the fortitude they endured. People of Pakistan have risen to huge challenges. Eradicating polio pales in comparison. Only strong commitment and decisive action is needed. Furthermore, if the divide between government and people is bridged and the distrust of the latter in the former is done away with, many riddles would solve automatically.  |
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