This resolve of the government as well as of the head of the government must be lent full support by all the leading lights of the country including the politicians from all different parties, whether or not they are represented in the parliament. The question is that of ridding the children of Pakistan of this crippling disease that leads to lifelong paralysis, despondency and dependency.
The entire globe is nowadays geared up to wipe out this curse from the face of the earth and 2012 has already been declared as the year of total elimination of polio but unfortunately, Pakistan is still among three unfortunate countries of the world that continue to be afflicted with this disease even now, though the number of victims has reduced substantially.
This painful aspect (that polio is still there in Pakistan) aside, the most painful and shameful development in this context occurred during the last few days when eight innocent anti-polio workers were brutally gunned down, leaving some others injured. Most of these workers were young girls, in their teens, and they worked only to save and improve the lives of our future generation by giving them drops free of charge. And they had been doing it for very small compensation.
The Prime Minister has strongly condemned the attacks on polio field workers in Karachi and Peshawar and expressed deep shock and grief over their death. He has also ordered the authorities concerned to conduct an inquiry into the incidents and bring the real culprits to book. In addition to that, the Prime Minister has also directed the Interior Ministry to co-ordinate with the national polio eradication authorities and provide foolproof security to the polio teams.
Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Ambassador for Polio Eradication, has also strongly condemned the violence against Polio workers and stated: "We must not be deterred, better security precautions will be taken. Insha Allah through our passion and dedication we shall eradicate this crippling disease from our homeland, we shall continue to fight in the names of those who have lost their lives for the cause. We shall continue to fight for young girls like Farzana".
Pakistan's Ambassador Masood Khan has also conveyed the government's resolve in a meeting with UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, at the UN headquarters. As for the work being done with dedication on the anti-polio front, that is still going on to the satisfaction of the people of Pakistan. The Prime Minister has expressed his high appreciation of the polio field teams who, according to him, have rendered invaluable services in this humanitarian area and have been instrumental in wiping out the disease from the country.
In order to understand the PPP-led government's determination to pursue the polio eradication campaign, there is need to understand the background of this drive that was launched for the first time in 1994 by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. One must pray for that noble soul for laying the foundations of this noble programme. Courtesy that programme, Pakistan has come a long way from having 20,000 polio cases in 1994 to 56 cases in 2012. It indeed is a great stride forward.
Even President Asif Ali Zardari's keen interest in this programme is driven by inspiration that he draws from BB Shaheed's vision. His own daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari happens to be Unesco Ambassador for Polio Eradication. Continuing with the pragmatic policy adopted by PPP leadership from day one, the government has also sought the help of religious scholars, besides soliciting the support of district khateebs and parliamentarians as part of effective communication strategy to achieve optimum results of anti-polio campaigns. According to the Prime Minister, this policy of engagement has been quite successful. Yet greater stress is on the need to neutralise the message of those who resist the government's efforts of immunisation against polio. For this purpose, the government has urged the participation of media, political parties, civil society organisations and opinion leaders to play their role to raise public awareness and promote advocacy of the cause.
No doubt, there have been some problems coming in the way of polio eradication programmes but certain positive developments have also helped strengthen the programme like for instance the acknowledgement by Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in its June 2012 report regarding the efforts in Pakistan which have shown marked improvement. The Prime Minister takes it with pride and says, "This was an endorsement of our strategy and measures taken in this regard".
The Prime Minister has also commended the co-operation of global partners such as WHO, Rotary International, Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation, and UNICEF for their support and technical expertise in the fight against polio. Yet another encouraging news is that 34 million children would be covered under the National Emergency Plan 2013 which will involve over 25000 polio workers. And more encouraging is the commendation from Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon who has lauded Government of Pakistan's efforts for the eradication of polio.