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Upset about its failure to contain polio, especially its reporting the highest number of global polio cases last year and until now this year, a leading global oversight body fears Pakistan could be the last endemic country in the world.
“The current situation in Pakistan is a powder keg that could ignite widespread polio transmission. The number of cases in this country is going in the wrong direction. The new government has been slow to grasp the fundamental seriousness of the situation. If the current trend continues, Pakistan will be the last place on earth in which polio exists,” Sir Liam Donaldson, chair of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Independent Monitoring Board, told Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organisation, in a recent communication.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership led by national governments and spearheaded by the WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Rotary International.
Polio remains endemic in three countries, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Until poliovirus transmission is interrupted in these countries, all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially in the ‘poliovirus importation belt’ of countries from west Africa to the Horn of Africa.
In the communication, a copy of which is available with this correspondent, Sir Liam Donaldson said the most serious polio situation was in Pakistan’s restive north-west, where the virus was enjoying unencumbered circulation at great human cost.
However, he was appreciative of the ‘firm and intelligently designed initiative’ underway in Peshawar, the troubled capital of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, whom the World Health Organisation recently declared the world’s largest reservoir of polio saying almost every polio case in the country last year could be linked genetically to strains of the virus circulating in the city.
The IMB chair insisted Pakistan must sustain Peshawar initiative and promote it elsewhere. As the recent polio outbreaks in Israel, Palestine and Syria were traced to Pakistan, Sir Liam Donaldson urged Dr Margaret Chan to ensure protection of children in these countries from the crippling disease.
According to him, the circulation of polio virus in Israel and West Bank and the Gaza Strip continues to concern the IMB.
“It is still entirely possible that Israel may become an epicenter for outbreaks started by travelers from its country to parts of the world currently free of polio. The risks of this disastrous situation will be greatly reduced if the Israeli government conducts further vaccination rounds, to finish off the job that they started. Also, a new outbreak has emerged in Syria, so protecting children from this scourge should be part of a core humanitarian response. We suggest that when humanitarian emergencies occur in countries where the reintroduction (or export) of poliovirus is possible, the GPEI seek to work with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as a key partner, and that OCHA be asked to include polio vaccination as a priority of the health clusters established under the Humanitarian Reform System.”
The IMB chair urged the WHO director-general to ensure early interruption of polio transmission globally.
“Given that the 2012 World Health Assembly declared polio eradication to be a programmatic emergency for global public health, it seems vital that all possible measures to impede the virus’ international spread be given serious consideration. The introduction of the controls we’d recommended seems long overdue.”
The WHO director general is slated to arrive in Pakistan tomorrow (Wednesday) to apprise top leadership of the international community’s concern about the failure of the polio eradication programme besides discussing ways and means to contain the virus.
Pakistan could be last polio-endemic country, says global oversight body - thenews.com.pk
Upset about its failure to contain polio, especially its reporting the highest number of global polio cases last year and until now this year, a leading global oversight body fears Pakistan could be the last endemic country in the world.
“The current situation in Pakistan is a powder keg that could ignite widespread polio transmission. The number of cases in this country is going in the wrong direction. The new government has been slow to grasp the fundamental seriousness of the situation. If the current trend continues, Pakistan will be the last place on earth in which polio exists,” Sir Liam Donaldson, chair of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Independent Monitoring Board, told Dr Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organisation, in a recent communication.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership led by national governments and spearheaded by the WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Rotary International.
Polio remains endemic in three countries, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Until poliovirus transmission is interrupted in these countries, all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially in the ‘poliovirus importation belt’ of countries from west Africa to the Horn of Africa.
In the communication, a copy of which is available with this correspondent, Sir Liam Donaldson said the most serious polio situation was in Pakistan’s restive north-west, where the virus was enjoying unencumbered circulation at great human cost.
However, he was appreciative of the ‘firm and intelligently designed initiative’ underway in Peshawar, the troubled capital of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, whom the World Health Organisation recently declared the world’s largest reservoir of polio saying almost every polio case in the country last year could be linked genetically to strains of the virus circulating in the city.
The IMB chair insisted Pakistan must sustain Peshawar initiative and promote it elsewhere. As the recent polio outbreaks in Israel, Palestine and Syria were traced to Pakistan, Sir Liam Donaldson urged Dr Margaret Chan to ensure protection of children in these countries from the crippling disease.
According to him, the circulation of polio virus in Israel and West Bank and the Gaza Strip continues to concern the IMB.
“It is still entirely possible that Israel may become an epicenter for outbreaks started by travelers from its country to parts of the world currently free of polio. The risks of this disastrous situation will be greatly reduced if the Israeli government conducts further vaccination rounds, to finish off the job that they started. Also, a new outbreak has emerged in Syria, so protecting children from this scourge should be part of a core humanitarian response. We suggest that when humanitarian emergencies occur in countries where the reintroduction (or export) of poliovirus is possible, the GPEI seek to work with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as a key partner, and that OCHA be asked to include polio vaccination as a priority of the health clusters established under the Humanitarian Reform System.”
The IMB chair urged the WHO director-general to ensure early interruption of polio transmission globally.
“Given that the 2012 World Health Assembly declared polio eradication to be a programmatic emergency for global public health, it seems vital that all possible measures to impede the virus’ international spread be given serious consideration. The introduction of the controls we’d recommended seems long overdue.”
The WHO director general is slated to arrive in Pakistan tomorrow (Wednesday) to apprise top leadership of the international community’s concern about the failure of the polio eradication programme besides discussing ways and means to contain the virus.
Pakistan could be last polio-endemic country, says global oversight body - thenews.com.pk
