PAKISTAN has failed miserably to protect its children from polio, a preventable disease that has been eradicated almost everywhere in the world. With 68 cases reported in 2024, compared to Afghanistan’s 25, we find ourselves in the embarrassing position of being the worst performers among the only two countries where polio remains endemic.
Officials from Pakistan’s polio program point to our superior reporting mechanisms and suggest that numbers from Afghanistan may be underreported. However, this cannot in any way excuse our dismal performance. The fact is that Pakistan, with its considerably stronger infrastructure and institutional capacity, should not even be in the same conversation as war-torn Afghanistan when it comes to public health metrics.
Polio in our regions has spread to 83 districts. Our environmental surveillance has detected the virus in 591 wastewater samples at 106 sites. These are terrifying figures. In fact, security challenges in former Fata, Karachi and Peshawar have hampered vaccination efforts.
However, this narrative of perpetual obstacles is wearing thin. Pakistan’s polio eradication program, active since 1994, has lately been plagued by mismanagement, vaccine refusal and gaps in immunization coverage. Despite nine vaccination campaigns and mapping efforts, 12 percent of our infected children did not receive any doses of the oral polio vaccine. This failure cannot be attributed solely to external factors; highlights systemic inefficiencies and lack of political will.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s formation of a new team, including focal person Ayesha Raza Farooq and national coordinator Anwarul Haq, suggests recognition of the crisis, but we have seen similar initiatives before with little lasting impact. Program officials must adopt innovative strategies to overcome resistance, improve access, and ensure accountability at all levels. Global polio eradication is within reach and Pakistan has no excuse to remain an outlier. It is time to put an end to this national disgrace once and for all.
Published in Amanecer, January 7, 2025.
