Athens, April 24: Pakistan is rapidly becoming a hub for the polio virus, raising concerns within the international community about the potential for widespread cross-border transmission. Systemic issues such as corruption, administrative failures, government inaction, barriers to reaching marginalized communities, and widespread vaccine hesitancy have allowed the virus to resurge.
According to Geopolitico, based in Athens, this situation is particularly alarming given that Pakistan has received over $100 million in international aid to eradicate polio since 2023.
Currently, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV-1) is still present. While cases in Afghanistan have significantly decreased under Taliban rule, Pakistan has reported over 100 active WPV-1 cases in the past two years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the virus has now spread across all major provinces of Pakistan, including relatively developed Punjab and less developed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The WHO’s Polio IHR Emergency Committee indicates that this spread is expected to continue into 2025, affecting districts in Lahore and central regions of the country.
The committee also noted that an increase in cases has been observed since 2023, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan. Alarmingly, an WPV-1 case has re-emerged in Gilgit-Baltistan after eight years, highlighting the deep-rooted nature of this issue.
Experts attribute the failure to eradicate this disease to profound structural weaknesses in Pakistan’s health system. Key challenges include a lack of transportation for medical teams in remote areas, inadequate training, vaccine shortages, poor coordination and accountability, political interference, and the uneven distribution of quality health services, which primarily benefit the elite.
Nawab Ali Khattak, a development advisor in Pakistan, echoed these concerns, stating that the resurgence of polio is due to logistical barriers, security threats, misinformation, and corruption.
Another academic based in Pakistan, Asadullah Channa, pointed out that a significant part of this crisis is linked to the government’s failure to effectively counter extremist ideologies. He argues that authorities have avoided direct confrontation with radical elements, allowing misinformation to spread for years, which has influenced public perception and increased vaccine denial.
According to Channa, the persistence of polio is also a result of political neglect, as successive governments have failed to combat extremist propaganda while current leadership focuses more on political and judicial activities than on urgent public health priorities.
Leave a Comment