Polio: Lessons from India

Written By ASHOK MAHAJAN, NYT 

India is observing a significant public health milestone: two full years without a new case of poliomyelitis.

Today, the wild polio virus circulates in only three countries: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan, where the polio eradication campaign has been in the news lately, but, unfortunately, not because of the impressive 65 percent reduction in cases Pakistan has achieved since 2011. Sadly, the news out of Pakistan has focused on a recent spate of violence targeting polio vaccinators, the dedicated army of health workers and volunteers who go door-to-door to reach the most at-risk children with the oral polio vaccine. Their dedication and hard work are largely responsible for the tremendous progress in the war against polio, with only 218 cases reported worldwide so far in 2012,  a record low, down from 350,000 cases a year in the 1980s.
The media have linked the violence to lingering suspicions within some segments of the Muslim community that polio eradication is some sort of Western conspiracy to sicken or sterilize Muslim children.

Cultural misconceptions are one of many challenges we face as we close in on our goal of global eradication, along with poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, poor sanitation, extreme population densities, inadequate infrastructure, geographical isolation — the list goes on.

Rotary Club: reach out to the local and regional religious leaders and scholars to inform them about polio eradication and why reaching every child with the vaccine is so important.

What we did in India shows that by working hand-in-glove with the true faith leaders of the communities at risk — by gaining their trust and support through sincere dialogue and by keeping the focus always on the well-being of the child – polio eradication is achievable even under the most challenging conditions.