Long road ahead11/7/2022 ![]() Similarly, serious field obstacles such as missed children, family refusals, and pervasive anti-vaccine propaganda have to be overcome to reach an acceptable level of immunisation. With the country’s civil-military leadership spearheading anti-polio efforts, it is hoped that the board’s advice will be heeded across the board. The board stressed further that the leadership, drive, and use of real-time data witnessed in the country’s efficient response to the coronavirus pandemic, must be replicated. In order to build on the recent gains, the government needs to fully implement recommendations made by the Polio Oversight Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in June this year, such as strengthening government leadership of the polio eradication programme, ensuring regular engagement at the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, and taking part in review meetings with provinces following supplementary immunisation activities. The country has witnessed drops in cases earlier, only to see a resurgence later. Yet, despite the promising signs, several pressing challenges remain. Moreover, this month, the UAE government provided Pakistan $23 million for its polio campaigns, along with around $376,000 for personal protective equipment to safeguard health workers from the coronavirus. Up till June this year, three nationwide polio vaccination campaigns have been held to inoculate 33 million children under the age of five with the participation of over 200,000 health workers and social mobilisers – an enormous challenge as it is but made more severe due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is a much-welcome development, especially since routine immunisation campaigns were shelved for several months last year following the coronavirus outbreak, in line with recommendations of global health agencies. Similarly, cases of the circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 stand at eight this year whereas the figure was 135 in 2020 and 22 in 2019. So far, only one WPV type 1 case has been reported in the country this year – in Balochistan – as opposed to 84 cases in 2020 and 147 a year before. A report in this newspaper highlighted that Pakistan has not reported a single case of the wild poliovirus in the past six months, whereas there has been a substantial decline in positive environment samples as well as the geographic distribution of the virus. I groaned inside.With recent unprecedented gains in Pakistan’s fight against polio, there is cause for cautious optimism. My torturer came and congratulated me on a good run. There seemed to be a hollow space where my lungs used to be and I felt so light. I finally arrived, coughing and hurting all over. ![]() I wanted to give up, but my destination was near. I wanted to stop, but she was right behind me. I could taste the dry, scratchy blood lingering in my throat. She didn't seem to care that I was ready to collapse. Her presence intimidated me, pushing me farther along. ![]() I stopped for one moment, but I saw her figure coming toward me. But soon I was back to the short, unrhythmic pattern again. I took in short, heavy gasps, which only tired me out more. I was so tired, too tired to breathe even. Time had slowed down it was going to be a slow painful death. It would have been such a beautiful scene if I had had the strength to enjoy it. The sun shone high, glaring into my eyes. The waves softly rolled onto the shore, tickling the sand, and then retreating its finger-like movements back into the ocean. I lowered my eyes onto the road, only to look up and see the same scene each time. The scenes around me began to blur, nothing was well defined. ![]() The life that was once in my head slipped away. As I continued, the pain seemed to dissipate, along with my energy. By the time the pain had reached its peak, it was too late to turn back. The pain steadily increased as I journeyed down the road. Unknowingly, I began my journey into hell.įor the first few minutes I felt really good, for I had a very vague idea of the torture that I was about to go through. I pulled my hands into the sleeves of my windbreaker to keep them from freezing as I took several deep breaths to calm myself. ![]() A long, narrow stretch of road lay ahead that I was to travel. ![]()
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