Polio is still a major disease that
affects many people in Pakistan. The government has had to call the disease a
national emergency last year. The total number of cases which occurred during
the national emergency was 198, but since Pakistan has taken efforts for a new
vaccination the numbers have decreased. The areas that are most affected are
those that are more secluded and in tribal regions. There are 34 million
children in Pakistan that need to receive the polio vaccination in order to
stop the spread and many of them live in these unreachable areas. The people
who live there are so secluded because of the dangers of the Taliban as well as
the attack done by the United States with the use of drones. These people are
highly mobile which helps the disease spread quickly. The parents have been
told rumors that the vaccinations cause sterilization in children, AIDS, and that
the CIA agents are who is administering the vaccinations. With all of these
factors, roadside checks have been set up in order to catch any children under
5 years old to give them the vaccination so that they can be sure that those
children do not get missed. However, by doing these roadblocks they are not
reaching everyone and so to help with the process, UNICEF has been using
educators to tell families about polio and the importance of the vaccine.
I
believe that the work that these officials are doing in Pakistan is very
beneficial to the people in the region. These children need help to fight this
disease, especially since they are so weak from their conditions. These
children often need multiple vaccinations to insure that they have a good
chance of not contacting this virus. I found it interesting that those who the
UNICEF educates are the women, students, and religious leaders. It does not
mention that the men of the area are educated to help the community, so it
shows who has the ability to influence the people. I also found it shocking
that something such as American drone attacks can affect the way that a country
can receive vaccinations. I feel as though the roadside checks and vaccinations
are not doing well enough to reach the 34 million children in the country.
However, due to dangers and mobility issues I know that it makes it difficult
for those vaccinators to get into contact with these children. Hopefully over
time these actions will show more improvement in lowering the cases of polio
and a new way can be discovered to treat those children in the future.
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