Pakistan Polio fears Covid-19 misses immunization for millions of children | Global Development

In April, about 40 million children missed polio Pakistan After the national vaccination campaign is cancelled.

Along with Afghanistan, Pakistan is one of the only countries in the world where polio is still endemic. Polio is very close to death, with only 12 cases in 2018 compared to 147 last year. In the same year, Pakistan Accused To mask the revival of the P2 strain of virus. It is believed to have been eradicated in 2014.

As polio rebounded and became extremely difficult last year, Dr. Ranham Hammad Savdal, the national coordinator for eradicating polio, told the Guardian. “We plan a national campaign as soon as we have the opportunity, but we are equally concerned about routine immunization campaigns that are missed because of Covid-19. Vaccines such as measles I’m afraid of an infectious disease.”

So far, 47 cases have been reported this year. The Guardian spoke with six Pakistani polio authorities and scientific experts who were not officially allowed to speak to the media. They fear Pakistan is returning to the 2014 level, the worst year in recent records.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) recommended on March 24 that all vaccination programs be suspended until the second half of the year. “We didn’t want the program to be responsible for making things worse at Covid-19,” said Michelle Zafran, world director. health An organization-led group.

Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, who won the award for polio eradication, told the Guardian that the suspension was dangerous. “If one program isn’t effective, we call it a disaster, but missing the entire national campaign will have unimaginable consequences.”

According to officials, the disease has spread across three central areas: Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar, and is now spread to central Pakistan. The virus spread easily in the summer, with over 200 cases seen this year.

“There is nothing worse than this situation. There are positive samples everywhere. The science experts in the program told the Guardian.

Pakistan has received international funding for eradication of polio since 1994, but Safdar said it was impossible to know the exact amount due to the support from various groups.

“We have a disability tag,” said a staff member who has been in the polio program for over 15 years. “We are the most funded polio program [in the world].. India has eradicated polio with little money. “

“The increase in incidents in 2019 was disappointing, but I am confident that Pakistan will be able to stop polio,” a spokesman for the Gates Foundation told the Guardian. The Foundation has contributed $3.7 billion (£3 billion) to global eradication initiatives since 2007. Funds are paid to countries such as Pakistan through the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

Donors may not say it openly, but “yes, they are worried and dissatisfied,” Farouk said.

Funding the polio program has also become difficult with President Trump’s frozen US funding for WHO and the focus on Covid-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the founding members of GPEI and also supports and finances polio programs. “CDC-supported programs and activities will be at risk as long as the funding cessation lasts,” said Benjamin Haines, CDC’s deputy director.

There are also fears among Pakistani officials that the virus may spread to other parts of the world.

“It doesn’t take a long time to spread. It all depends on the gap and the time it takes for the virus to penetrate Pakistan and spread to other parts of the world,” Safder said.

“Some people don’t take polio seriously because it doesn’t have a direct death, but it’s a huge human loss not only to the Pakistanis, but to the world,” said the science. The expert said.

Its International Oversight Committee To report Last year, he said the polio program became “political football” in Pakistan. Opposition members of the National Senate I was demanded to Bavar bin Atta, the main representative of Imran Khan’s polio eradication effort, who resigned last year on charges of negligence.

“I want to have hope, but I can’t because the whole program has been politicized by the governing government,” Farouk said.

Pakistan spends less than 1% of GDP on health services, according to the Pakistan Human Rights Commission 2019 reportWHO recommends a 6% allocation.

Persuading many people in Pakistan’s most developing regions to help eradicate polio is a daunting battle. “During our campaign, some people made us a basic health unit, provided free treatment for diarrhea, and gave them medicines for headaches, and got a polio vaccine. I asked them to put in. Pakistan needs to invest in public health, not bombs,” said a longtime expert.