A Pakistani health worker administers polio vaccination drops to a child in Peshawar. (Photo: AFP/A Majeed)

 

Pakistan has recorded more than 200 polio cases this year - its worst number since 2000. It is one of the few countries in the world where polio has not been contained, due in part to community misconceptions and a vaccine ban enforced by the Taliban.

 

Polio victim, little Amina, has been robbed of her childhood. She will never live a normal life but may never understand why. Polio has crippled her body. While others around her enjoy the blessings of life, she - like hundreds of other kids infected with infantile paralysis - suffers from a crippling but preventable disease.

 

Amina, the youngest child amongst three older brothers, was just one year old when her parents realised they had done wrong by denying her the polio vaccine.

 

Her mother, Khalida Khanum, said: "Initially doctors said she could be cured but now they say her bones are deformed beyond repair. They did not tell us the reason behind it, maybe it's due to God's will, He knows the best."

 

A vicious and violent anti-polio vaccination campaign launched by the Taliban in the aftermath of a US raid in 2011 has left hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis skeptical of allowing health workers to administer the life-saving drug.

 

Only three countries in the world have failed to stop the transmission of polio - Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

 

Despite the progress achieved since 1988, the virus is spreading at an alarming rate in Pakistan mainly due to the misconception that the vaccine is a Western poison to make Muslims infertile or serve a bigger agenda - total eradication. This has severely affected the drive against polio and put lives of health workers at risk.

 

The threats to health workers dealing with polio in Pakistan are not limited to mere insults and injuries. Several have actually lost their lives while trying to prevent the alarming spread of the disease. "Still we have decided to be peaceful and eradicate the disease of polio from its roots. This is our pledge," said health worker Sabiha Ali.

 

Though Pakistan has made it mandatory to be vaccinated to travel abroad, the situation is far from under control. Civil societies and celebrities are slowly making efforts to raise awareness. Prominent musician Aaron Haroon is one of them.

 

His internationally acclaimed cartoon series 'Burka Avenger' is aimed at bringing awareness to youngsters about the dangers of polio and educating parents about the importance of the vaccine.

 

Aaron Haroon, CEO of Unicorn Black & developer of Burka Avenger, said: "If the government can't do enough then people like us - artists, animators, directors, musicians - need to step up the play because it is important that the children of Pakistan don't suffer this terrible infection."

 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he is aware of the magnitude of the problem and that his government has the capacity to make Pakistan polio-free.

 

- CNA/ir