It’s a disease that attacks children under five, and it’s mean. It sickens them with fevers and if it doesn’t kill them, it leaves them crippled for life. The western world fought and pretty much won its war with polio. But in Pakistan and India, the disease is still claiming young lives.
By Devi Boerema
India has initiated a nation-wide vaccination programme. But Pakistan, which has the second highest infection rate in the world, is still discussing compulsory vaccinations. Pakistanis risk infection every day; last year 144 cases of polio were registered, the highest number since 2000. But though vaccines are offered for free amongst the population, elements of Pakistani society are strongly opposing polio vaccination initiatives.
Poliomyelitis mainly affects children under the age of five, but adults carry and spread the virus. Prevention can be ensured by a few drop of an oral vaccine. There are only four countries left in the world who are still dealing with polio: India, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. And only Pakistan is seeing a rise in infection rates.
A western conspiracy
Pakistan’s ever growing religious right are convinced that vaccinations are part of a western conspiracy. Campaigners have to battle rumours that vaccinations have been designed by western organizations to reduce Muslim populations.
Himayat ul-Haq, runs a madrassa in the North- West Pakhtunkhwa, where people follow a strict form of Deobandi Islam. He preaches that polio, like all endemic diseases are signs of God’s will and therefore anything blocking them are an insult to Allah: “We are all Muslim. We will do what Allah has said. God is the creator of all diseases. And he knows how to heal them”.
But campaigner Nadeem Ahmad has come across this theory so often, he has his counter arguments ready: “Indonesia is a Muslim country and it has polio vaccination. There are many vaccinations in many Arab countries. Even people who go to Saudi Arabia as hajj pilgrims have to be vaccinated to enter that country”.
Himayat ul-Haq doesn’t see why the West would be interested in helping Pakistan and continues to harbour his own suspicions voicing the belief common also amongst Islamic fundamentalists in Nigeria that polio vaccines were designed to keep Muslim populations down.
“In Africa, the polio vaccination program was really a way of controlling the population. Why did the western world care about the population in Kenya? Because they were Muslims. Why are we forced to take the vaccination when we don’t want to?”
Nadeem understands why it might be hard for people to trust the campaign “I am in favour of it because I’ve studied. I am educated. I have done [the] course and training. This way, I know everything about it”.
According to Nadeem Ahmad the highest rates of infection are in the Taliban controlled Northern provinces. These regions are controlled by Islamic fundamentalists who have attacked and kidnapped vaccine campaigners and they are extremely remote, with few primary health care facilities.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has recenly promised $50 million to Pakistan’s polio initiative. But will that be enough to change a mentality that has been fostered in suspicion and ignorance?
Based on interviews conducted by Suzanna Koster
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Well then, if they insist that we are giving them those vaccinations to "reduce Muslim populations", why don't we let them all get infected with polio? Seriously? I just don't see how we can help people who refuse help so blatantly based simply on their hatred of our culture. Maybe they're afraid that if this works, many of their own will see what kind of backward, savage religion they're all being oppressed under?
As one who survived childhood polio in 1952, I cannot agree with this view. Remember that the predominant victims of polio are babies and children, not mad mullahs. It is the latter who are the problem, not the kids. Our common humanity should dictate that we continue our efforts to rid the entire world of polio, just as we did with smallpox some years ago. Then nobody will be infected ever again and nobody will have to live the sort of life I have had to live for the past 59 years.
I totally agree and don't know why the West bothers to try and help them. In a similar way, doctors in the West deplore the fact that children have rickets and women suffer Vitamin D deficiency because they are always covered up. Who cares? They've chosen this way of life, let them suffer the consequences.
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