The Problem Of Polio In Pakistan, Nigeria, And Afghanistan
Polio is still endemic in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Afghanistan and is eliminated from the rest of the world. Poliomyelitis is an extremely infectious viral disease originate by a polio virus that mainly affects the children. Poliovirus attacks a person’s nervous system and leads to paralysis (irreversible paralysis in one out of 200 cases), breathing issues and limb deformities. The virus transmits from person to person only through the fecal-oral route or by the intake of adulterated food and drinking polluted water.
Although since 1988 polio cases have reduced worldwide by over 99%, but three polio-endemic countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria) still have difficulty in eradicating the prevelance of wild poliovirus. The type 2 wild poliovirus strain was officially declared to be eradicated in 2015, but two strains of wild type virus are still present. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children have to receive the regimen of four doses of polio vaccine (at following ages: 2 months, 4 months, 6 to 18 months, and 4 to 6 years old) Pakistan and Afghanistan share a common epidemiological block and across the border, the heavy migration increases the incidence of poliovirus in both directions.
From 2012 to 2015, the biggest problem in the prevention of polio from Pakistan was the pressure from militant organizations which opposed polio eradication program in Pakistan. They banned the polio vaccination programs in the most prevalent areas of polio infection, which were under their management and they also spread fear among polio vaccinators. According to WHO, about 280,000 children in those isolated tribal regions were not vaccinated at all. Another major issue is the misbelief of public about polio vaccination. In Nigeria, in high-risk areas for polio, a large number of families refused to administer the vaccine to their children in every campaign because they believed that vaccine is not safe and contained contaminated ingredients. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, the security reasons of the vaccination teams are a big obstacle in the fight with polio. The WHO has declared that most of the polio cases recorded in Pakistan and also imposed limitations on travel to stop polio spread to other countries because a few cases of polio have appeared in Egypt and China that have the link to the endemic strain of poliovirus in Pakistan. It has been reported that out the 26 cases of polio observed in 2016, most have been in Afghanistan and Pakistan due to the opposition to vaccination campaigns in these countries represent a major challenge to the international target of eradicating polio.
There are different social mobilizers and volunteer teams are encourage and satisfy to communities that there is no danger in repeated vaccination and that the defense system of our children is not strong, so they should receive the polio vaccine. Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is the biggest public health initiative to eradicate polio worldwide. Its aim is to reach every single child with polio vaccines, mainly those who have been continuously missed their dose, with the implementation of high-quality immunization activities to eliminate the virus as quickly as possible. In Afghanistan, emergency operations centers are operating under a country's emergency action plan to verify that chronically missed children are easily accessed now and later. Most areas of the country remain polio-free, despite the worsening security condition throughout the country. Pakistan has made a significant improvement towards eradicating polio in the country. However, in high prevalence areas of the country, the virus is regularly observed through environmental monitoring, indicating that unvaccinated children are allowing the virus to remain vulnerable.
In Nigeria, many innovative strategies are being utilized to vaccinate children, including opportunistic campaigns that are run under suitable circumstances and security permissions, cross-border checks, and outreach campaigns. By educating the local people through awareness workshops and campaigns can help them to realize the importance of polio vaccination to their children and can also influence the people to participate in polio elimination from society.
In conclusion, all three endemic countries for polio, at present are surrounded by numerous problems like security issues, natural disasters, and political pressure. All these factors are responsible for slowing down the polio vaccination campaigns. Therefore, it is necessary to bring awareness to people so, they would be able to overcome this problem.
