The emergency response to the polio campaign in Pakistan has been buzzing, but efforts to eradicate the polio virus seem to be fading with each passing day because polio vi­rus has once again been detected in 14 environmental samples collected from different districts of Pakistan. It has been confirmed that every few years we face failure to ap­proach the goal of polio-free Pakistan. These circum­stances require us to rethink our strategy, identify and remedy the causes or factors that are delaying the eradication of polio in Pakistan.

Unfortunately, polio- a devastating disease that crip­ples a person for life, has been eradicated worldwide but Pakistan is among the two countries in the world where the virus of this disease is still endemic. Periodic outbreaks of polio­myelitis were common in Africa and Asia but with sub-region­al emergency response, the virus’s former hotspots of Nigeria, India and Egypt no longer have any cases of wild polio. Accord­ing to experts, due to a lack of awareness among the people and inattention of the government, 30% of children do not receive complete immunizations. On the one hand, various diseases are spreading due to non-vaccination and on the other hand, the po­lio virus is not being eradicated owing to non-fulfilment of the polio vaccination target. So once again the detection of polio........

© The Nation