Three new cases of Poliomyelitis have been reported in Balochistan, raising the toll of the ongoing year to 10.
According to The Balochistan Post news desk; a 13-month-old minor in Jhal Magsi, a four-and-a-half-year-old girl in Naseerabad and another eight-month-old minor in Zhob have been tested positive for poliomyelitis. The reported cases for this year have increased to ten.
Earlier in May, a polio case was confirmed in Usta Mohammad. In April, two four-year-olds were also tested positive for the disease.
Poliomyelitis is a viral disease caused by Polio-virus. This disease spreads mostly through the use of contaminated water but human-to-human interaction also helps in its spread.
Balochistan houses the weakest healthcare system in the region. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, polio cases are more likely to be neglected. In such conditions, the disease might gain momentum and infect many other children throughout Balochistan.
The scarcity of clean drinking water in Balochistan makes it particularly vulnerable to Polio. In cities like Zhob or Quetta, public water filters are rare. Water canals run adjacent to drainage cunettes, whereas tube wells are installed in their proximity. These, combined with other factors like pollution, unhygienic conditions and insanitation, have contributed to the shortage of drinking water in these cities. Other underdeveloped regions of Balochistan also suffer from similar conditions.
The lack of vaccination is also a major contributor to the spread of Poliomyelitis. Balochistan’s weak health infrastructure and the lack of trained health workers is a major hindrance in the vaccination of the children. Furthermore, health workers have also been targeted in various attacks. Some are killed while others have received serious injuries. With their security at stake, health workers seldom volunteer for vaccination.
Unfounded beliefs of the inhabitants of Balochistan are another factor for the lack of Vaccinations. The influential regional clergy have been known to claim that vaccines are “western conspiracies” to “emasculate” the Muslims. Mass vaccinations, they think, will shrink the Muslim populations, thus making it easier for the “west” to conquer them. There is enough scientific literature to refute these claims, but due to being neglected by the federal government Balochistan’s lack of education leaves its citizens exposed to misinformation. This leads to anti-vaccination stances and increases the odds of the outbreak and spread of polio.
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries in the world where polio is endemic, according to the World Health Organization.
Baloch nationalists blame Pakistani state for the weakest healthcare and education system. They also claim that Balochistan is an occupied region where an insurgency is going on since the occupation and as a counter-insurgency policy, the state is strengthening the religious outfits in the region.