Pakistan’s polio programme is currently in shambles. There has been an unprecedented spike in polio cases this year. The head of the polio eradication programme has resigned, and now damning reports indicate that there has been a cover-up over a fresh polio outbreak.
The reputable Guardian newspaper has accused officials with the polio eradication programme of not disclosing that a dozen children were infected with the most dangerous strain of the virus considered to have been eradicated over five years ago in Pakistan.
The new cases were reportedly kept hidden from the government and international donors, allegedly on the orders of Babar bin Atta, the prime minister’s focal person on polio eradication, who was forced to quit last month over corruption allegations and mismanagement.
The report also states that authorities in Pakistan are planning to run a covert polio vaccination programme on the P2 strain of polio, which causes paralysis and primarily affects children under the age of five. As per protocol, all news cases have to be reported and international health donors must be alerted, but the report claims that this was not done under Atta.
The immunization program in Pakistan is already seen with suspicion and these revelations would be a dramatic step back in the fight against polio. The renewed outbreak occurred due to the mismanagement of vaccines. After the strand was eliminated from Pakistan, all vaccines should have been disposed. However, in a case of gross negligence, a P2 vaccine was accidentally administered and tests proved that all children are carrying a vaccine-derived form of the disease.
There has been an alarming increase in polio cases in the country. Atta has been accused of ruining the entire programme through mismanagement. He has rejected the reports as baseless but failed to provide a satisfactory explanation. The special assistant on health has also denied that there was a cover-up. He claims that there is no wild poliovirus outbreak. He insists that similar outbreaks have been reported in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Congo which had eradicated polio.
This shoot the messenger strategy cannot be accepted. These revelations will have damaging effects on the polio programme as years of achievements have been reversed. This is a huge setback for the polio workers who have struggled against the disease. An independent investigation is required and those responsible for the terrible mismanagement should be held accountable.
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