The Emergency Operations Centre Balochistan (Anti-Polio Program) has stated that conflicts, political instability, inaccessibility to the population and poor infrastructure are the main challenges in eradicating the disease of polio. Meanwhile, the rise in denial has further damaged the campaign, with numerous conspiracy theories around the polio vaccine circulating over the years. These includes rumours ranging from fears of infertility due to the vaccine to more general preoccupations with “Western conspiracies.”
For its part, the Emergency Operations Centre Balochistan has made several efforts to dispel such rumours and to make the public aware of the importance of vaccines for children. However, the number of vaccine denial cases is alarmingly high.
According to data provided by the Emergency Operation Center Balochistan, in response to an RTI filed by this author, at the end of the polio campaign in Quetta in November 2020, 48,488 cases of Polio refusals were recorded – which, later after the special campaign, remained at 14,171.
Compared to that, in the polio campaign in December 2021, 34,741 refusal cases were reported. There are 8,316 refusal cases in Quetta city alone, despite the special campaigns to cover unvaccinated children by convincing the parents.
“For Balochistan 2,284,787 children were to be vaccinated during the November 2021 polio campaign, but the target was achieved for 95.91%,” according to the Emergency Operation Centre Balochistan. In the December 2021 polio campaign in Balochistan, 97.03% of the 294,566-targeted children were vaccinated.
According to the Provincial Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre, “Social media has played a negative role by increasing the number of refusals due to misinformation regarding vaccines. Most of the refusals are based on misconceptions.”
He added:
“The social media policy for the Polio program has started playing its role through positive deviance.”
He further said that strategies being used by health authorities include a multi-layer influencer engagement strategy, single-knock strategy and communication planning and assessment tools. All these strategies are in place to reduce the refusal numbers.
“These revolve around door-to-door mobilisation, engagement of tribal notables and religious scholars, and community meetings with parents,” he said.
Rumours regarding anti-polio drives have had a devastating effect on the campaign.
Social media also played a big role in spreading these rumours during the past few years. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) claimed to have shut down 174 accounts for posting anti-polio campaign material on social media.
In a list released by the PTA, the agency blocked 130 Facebook accounts, 14 Twitter accounts and 30 videos on YouTube spreading rumors against the polio vaccine.
Dr. Kaleemullah, working in the polio campaign in Quetta, said that one of the main reasons for the high number of denials around polio was the number of rumours circulating on the internet against the polio campaign, which resulted in most of the children being included in the ‘not available’ list during the polio campaign.
“When polio teams visit homes, parents do not show their children and say that they have gone to the house of a grandmother or another relative,” he said.
Dr. Kaleemullah explained how a solution has been worked out. Now, a system is being started to vaccinate the children in all the buses coming and going at the bus stands, and also in the areas where these children go. Authorities inform their teams on the spot so that they can give them polio drops there.
Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan are two countries where the poliovirus continues to infect children.
“The biggest obstacle in the fight against polio in Balochistan has been the false propaganda against the vaccine by some quarters, which has led many parents in the backward areas to refuse to vaccinate their children,” medical expert Dr. Shamroz Satakzai said. ‘
“Reactionary circles consider the polio vaccine a conspiracy of the Western world. The suspicion being spread through conspiracy theories is that they aim to eliminate the ability of Muslims to have children.”
