The Ministry of National Health Services resumed on Monday the nationwide anti-polio drive, its third this year, to vaccinate 33.6 million children under the age of five.
About 223,000 polio workers will visit homes while adhering to strict Covid-19 protocols, including wearing a mask, using a hand sanitiser, and maintaining a safe distance during the vaccination drive, a statement from the ministry said.
“To make this campaign successful, cooperate with frontline health workers,” Dr. Shahzad Baig, a coordinator for the End Polio Programme, an offshoot of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, said.
Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world along with Afghanistan.
Health officials said the PPEP campaign has been highly successful this year, with only two polio cases reported, a sizeable drop from the 84 cases documented in 2020.
Last month, Minister of State for Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that despite the “complex challenges” posed by the pandemic,” authorities were “optimistic about controlling polio before the end of 2022.”
He cited recent epidemiological data which showed a drop in polio cases, adding: “Decreased detection of viruses in sewage samples indicates the program is on track.
Polio is a highly infectious disease mainly affecting children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from the disease.
In a separate statement released on Monday, the PPEP encouraged parents to immunise all children under five against the disease.
“Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased. Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio-free,” it said.
The government’s efforts to rid the country of polio have lately suffered setbacks due to attacks on vaccinators and police personnel guarding them. The deadly violence is also cited as a factor for the upsurge in new cases that had dropped to only 12 cases in 2018.
Strict security measures had been taken for the campaign and personnel of Balochistan Levies force, police and Frontier Corps would move with all teams of vaccinations.
In traditionally conservative parts of the country, many see the vaccine as a Western-led conspiracy to sterilise children. To deal with the situation, religious scholars, tribal elders and other people who have influence in their areas would motivate parents to get their children vaccinated.
