News
Monday, September 11, 2006
Pakistan on the verge of becoming polio free: UNICEFPESHAWAR: International experts have assessed that Pakistan could become a polio-free country as early as the end of 2006 having decreased the number of polio cases from 30,000 in 1994 to just 13 this year by successfully implementing the Polio Eradication Programme.
According to a press release issued by the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the number of polio cases was estimated to be over 25,000 to 30,000 annually before the initiation of the National Immunisation Days (NIDs) programme in 1997.
Immediately after the introduction of the programme, polio cases decreased rapidly to 1,147 in 1997 that were one quarter of the total global cases that year, which further decreased to 558 in 1999.
To strengthen the routine immunisation programme, a regular house-to-house vaccination campaign was started in 2000, which helped decrease the number of polio cases to only 53 in 2004 and 28 in 2005.
In 2006, the downward trend in polio infection continued and so far only 13 cases have been reported from across the country, including two in the Punjab, four in the NWFP, six in Balochistan and one in Sindh.
In the NWFP, two polio cases were reported from Bannu district and one each from Dera Ismail Khan and Dir Lower district. Health officials believe that due to the proximity of all the cases to the Pak-Afghan border, where there is regular cross border movement, the cases are not of local but of Afghan origins.
Many countries have become polio free as a result of the global commitment to eradicating polio and only Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are left where polio is still endemic.
The delay in eradication of polio from Nigeria and India has been linked with rumours among the local Muslim populations about the safety of the vaccine. “It is unfortunate that baseless allegations against polio vaccine are putting the Global Polio Eradication Initiatives programme in jeopardy,” the UNICEF statement said.
The World Health Organisation specialists and officials are confident about the vaccine’s safety and its quality.
The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) having been convinced of the safety and quality of oral polio vaccines adopted more than one resolution calling on its member states to strengthen their eradication efforts using the polio vaccine. The polio vaccine used in Pakistan is procured by the UNICEF and meets all international and local safety standards, the statement said.
“It is the same vaccine used in 50 other Muslim countries. The vaccine meets the specifications set by the International Expert Committee on Biological Standardisation (ECBS) with respect to purity and content,” the statement said.
The statement said the vaccine did not contain any undeclared biologically active substances such as viruses, hormones or other materials. “No anti-fertility agent, including oestrogen and progesterone is added at any step of the manufacturing process of the vaccine and no such agent is present in the final product,” it said.
The World Health Organisation has also verified that manufacturers of the vaccine used in the eradication initiative met the specifications of the ECBS.
A number of fatwas have also been issued by Muslim scholars, including the grand imam of El Azhar Al Sharif, the International Union for Muslim Scholars, the mufti of Egypt, Maulana Fazalur Rahman and Dr Yousaf Al Qaradawi, the chairman of European Council for Fatwa and Research, along with a number of clerics from Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Mauritania, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.
In order to make Pakistan a polio free country, the Ministry of Health has been conducting quality campaigns with the support of health teams and monitoring the high quality of vaccine. Polio immunisation protects millions of children from disability and saves their lives and also provides a chance to local health workers and volunteers to increase their professional capabilities.
Thousands of doctors, health workers and volunteers participate in the campaigns. An effective surveillance system has also been established to monitor any after effects of the vaccine. Administration of vitamin A drops during polio campaigns has helped avert tens of thousands of childhood deaths.
The press statement said that sustained and more intensified efforts by the Health Ministry are required in the last stages of the polio eradication programme with continued community cooperation with the vaccination teams to eradicate polio from the country. app
Courtesy DailyTimes.com.pk