A health worker administers polio vaccine drops to a child during a vaccination campaign in Karachi on October 24, 2022. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP)
The recent detection of fresh polio cases in Pakistan has intensified the country’s long-standing battle against the wild poliovirus, further exposing the vulnerabilities of the South Asian nation’s already fragile healthcare system.
Despite ongoing vaccination campaigns and international support, Pakistan remains one of the few nations where the poliovirus continues to circulate, posing a grave challenge to public health efforts.
According to local media reports, Pakistani authorities confirmed two fresh cases of poliovirus last week with the total number touching 39 in 2024 so far and if the same trend continues then the numbers might hike in the upcoming two months.
Out of the total number of cases, 20 were reported from Balochistan and 12 cases emerged from Sindh.
The data shows that Pakistan’s battle against the poliovirus is becoming harder day by day.
In recent months, Pakistan has reported a worrying uptick in polio cases, with fresh detections primarily concentrated in regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, and the tribal areas, which have historically been polio hotspots.
The high number of cases reported from Balochistan reflects the insufficient penetration of vaccination in the region.
The virus, which mainly affects children under the age of five, can cause lifelong paralysis and, in some cases, be fatal.
This resurgence has sparked renewed concerns that Pakistan’s fight against polio, which seemed to be making slow but steady progress, is facing significant setbacks.
Insecurity, community resistance, and local protests have disrupted immunisation campaigns which has left a large number of children in Balochistan vulnerable to the disease which has been eradicated from the remaining part of the world except Afghanistan which is currently administered by the conservative Taliban rule.
In its Editorial, The Express Tribune wrote: “The reliance on staggered and postponed campaigns due to local unrest must be addressed, as every missed child represents a potential vector for further outbreaks.”
The 37 percent immunisation penetration in Balochistan remains a challenge for the region and its children since they remain vulnerable to the virus and if sufficient vaccination does not take place then the future remains uncertain for the coming generation.
Pakistan’s healthcare system, which is grappling with limited resources, underfunding, and accessibility issues, is under severe strain.
Hospitals and clinics, especially in rural and conflict-affected regions, lack the infrastructure to deliver basic medical services, let alone tackle complex outbreaks of infectious diseases like polio.
This fragile healthcare infrastructure hampers the delivery of essential vaccinations, particularly in remote and insecure areas.
Health workers, tasked with administering vaccines, often face threats from extremist groups, who falsely associate vaccination efforts with foreign agendas.
Such dangers have made it difficult for health campaigns to reach vulnerable populations, exacerbating the problem.
One of the biggest obstacles in Pakistan’s fight against polio is the rampant misinformation surrounding vaccines.
Conspiracy theories, spread by social media and certain local leaders, have led to widespread public mistrust of the polio vaccine.
Many families, especially in conservative and undereducated areas, still refuse to vaccinate their children due to unfounded fears about vaccine safety or religious concerns.
This growing mistrust has further hindered vaccination campaigns, resulting in low immunization coverage and leaving thousands of children unprotected.
The ongoing resistance toward vaccines, despite continuous education efforts, continues to provide fertile ground for the virus to spread.
Political instability and security issues, particularly in the tribal regions and KP, have compounded Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts.
Health workers are often targeted by militant groups, leading to a disruption of vaccination drives in areas where the virus is most prevalent.
The lack of consistent government oversight in these areas has allowed the virus to maintain a foothold, despite years of attempts to eradicate it.
Moreover, the government’s frequent shifts in focus and lack of a coordinated long-term strategy for healthcare development have slowed progress.
Despite international partnerships with organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, Pakistan’s political landscape has often failed to prioritize the polio crisis, causing delays in the eradication campaign.
As per The Express Tribune editorial, Pakistan’s polio cases cannot be solved in isolation and the world should also pressurise the government to take the crisis seriously before things go further out of hand.
Pakistan’s ongoing polio crisis has attracted global attention, as the virus continues to pose a threat to global health security.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other global health bodies have emphasized the need for more aggressive measures to control the outbreak.
However, the success of these efforts is tied to Pakistan’s ability to strengthen its healthcare system, counter misinformation, and improve vaccine accessibility in conflict-ridden areas.
Trying to show a way forward for the government to tackle the menace, Pakistan’s leading English daily the Dawn, wrote in its Editorial: “Instead of treating polio as a stand-alone emergency, it should be incorporated into a broader public health strategy.”
“Polio workers, for example, could be trained to promote other health measures, such as sanitation, nutrition, and maternal health. This would not only help in the fight against polio but also strengthen the overall healthcare system,” the Editorial said.
The Pakistani government should also work hard to improve the healthcare system and provide additional safety and security to the polio workers who are frequently targeted and even attacked.
Functioning health centres, routine immunisation, and trained staff are the three key measures that the government can ensure to rise in its battle against the virus and also grow the faith of citizens in its system.
It should not only be the liability of the government to ensure proper vaccination, the community members and their leaders should also unite and fight against all those forces that block the immunisation process.
“Parents will have to realise that regular polio vaccines are the only way to save their children from a life-altering condition. Since it is such a prevailing issue, the government may consider incentivising parents for getting their children inoculated,” Dawn News said in its editorial.
A similar opinion was voiced by The Express Tribune when it wrote in the Editorial: “Community engagement is crucial; building trust through dialogue and addressing concerns about vaccination can help dismantle resistance to immunisation efforts.” A joint action and a patient approach can only help Pakistan in its fight against the virus.
