Pak clamps down on parents refusing polio vaccine for child

Authorities in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province negotiate, persuade and sometimes issue arrest warrants against parents refusing polio vaccination for their child, a senior official said today.
"During the recent campaign that ended on April 1, only 17 refusals were recorded in the Dera Ismail Khan district and that would also be covered soon as we don't let these refusals linger on," Deputy Commissioner Nisar Ahmed Khan said.
Referring to those who refuse polio vaccination, Khan said they try to convince them through negotiation and persuasion and use every means to accept the polio vaccine. In case of chronic refusals, they do issue arrest warrants so as to ensure vaccination of every child.

Zero refusals have been recorded in Frontier Region of Dera Ismail Khan, a semi tribal belt, as the district administration stands committed to eradicate the crippling disease from the region, Khan said.
Dera Ismail Khan district borders South Waziristan Agency in northwest Pakistan and spread over approximately 7000 sq km and divided in 47 union councils and five tehsils with target population of about 0.3 million for polio vaccination. More than 600 polio teams have been constituted here, he said.
Polio workers' life is important for us and administration is providing them every possible security, Khan said.

"In order to eradicate polio virus, we have to give our 100 per cent and we have taken appropriate steps to stop transmission of the virus in the district. Females are key members in the team and we are trying to increase their number in the vaccination teams," Khan said.

"To make the polio programme a success, we take action against poor performers in the programme with the help of district administration and have successfully addressed issues related to logistics and operations," Qamar Iqbal, acting District Health Officer, said.
Anti-polio drive faces massive resistance from the Taliban, which considers the vaccines a conspiracy to sterile Muslims. The Taliban militants regularly attack polio workers and their police escorts to discourage immunisation campaigns.
Pakistan, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, are the only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic.
The WHO in May last year had imposed travel restrictions on people travelling from Pakistan to other countries.