Polio in Pakistan

Pakistan is one of the two remaining countries[1][2] in the world where poliomyelitis (polio) is still categorized as an endemic viral infection,[3] the other one being Afghanistan.

The Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) was begun in Pakistan by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 1970s to combat deaths from six vaccine-preventable diseases.

[12] In August 2015, the country launched an injectable polio vaccine intended to treat four million children and bring Pakistan closer to its goal of eradication by 2016.

[25] In April 2019, over 25,000 children were rushed to the hospital during a mass panic over the spread of false rumors that the polio vaccine causes fainting and vomiting.

[27] In 2011, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employed the services of Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, and local health officials to stage a fake vaccination campaign in an attempt to confirm Osama bin Laden's location in Abbottabad.

This ruse was organized in an effort to gain more knowledge on Bin Laden's whereabouts prior to Operation Neptune Spear.

[28] While it is still unknown if Afridi was aware of the implications for his services in the campaign, the main goal of the CIA was to collect DNA samples of Osama bin Laden's children from blood left on the needles used to deliver the Hepatitis B vaccination.

[33] In 2015, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had issued arrest warrants for 1,200 parents and guardians for refusing to administer vaccine to their children.

[34] By 2015, new cases of polio had dropped by 70% as compared to 2014, due to increased vaccination in parts of the northwest Pakistan that had previously been under the control of militants.

Due to the fact that the vaccines are primarily produced in the western countries, militant groups like Tehrik-i-Taliban propagandize that they have been made out of pig fat or contain alcohol, two things that are strictly forbidden in Islam.

One possible avenue for the Muslim world to eliminate the polio threat is to have local mosques and community centres promote vaccination, emphasizing that the sanctity of life is foremost in Islam.

Pakistan's healthcare system is burdened by poor public-sector funding, an ill-regulated private sector, and a lack of governmental transparency, all of which contribute to limiting the quality of public health services.

Members of the Polio Eradication Committee in Pakistan have also expressed concerns regarding the accountability of the organizations backing the campaign.

[49][50] In addition to the poor health and water sanitation infrastructure, the transmission of the virus is also heightened because of the high population density and climate conditions.

[18] Studies have indicated that the polio vaccine has reduced per-dose efficacy in areas near the Tropics, including Pakistan and its neighboring country India.

[51] As a consequence of the climate in South Asia, sometimes ten or more doses of the vaccine need to be administered, each a month apart, in order to ensure immunity.

[56] On 13 January 2016, a suicide bomber detonated himself near security personal vehicles close to a polio centre in a town near Quetta, Balochistan.

[71][72] Widespread malnutrition in Pakistani children is a factor in lowered resistance to disabling diseases and reduced efficacy of the polio vaccine.

[75] The duration of disability of polio, averaged over 1000 people, was 81.84 years, the equivalent of diseases including diphtheria, childhood meningitis, and measles.

Both areas saw individuals with polio have a higher incidence of musculoskeletal system diseases, as well as infections of the ear, and respiratory tract.