What
measures, if any, Pakistani Government should take to eradicate polio from the
country?
In their efforts to eradicate polio, present and past governments in Pakistan, in collaboration
with international organizations, have done their best to vaccinate the children
across the country. Children under the age of five have been periodically
vaccinated against polio for the last many years, resulting in improved
situation. Continued decline in polio cases can be seen from the fact that
number of polio cases per year dropped from more than 20,000 (in early 1990s)
to only 58 in the year 2012 [1]. However, in last couple of years, despite
government’s efforts, polio has started spreading. In this year only, number of polio cases
registered in the country has crossed 200 [2]. This has raised concerns about
effectiveness of country’s policy to combat the disease.
Pakistan
is currently facing many challenges including poverty, energy crisis,
terrorism, political instability, illiteracy, and health issues. Each of these
problems is of such a large scale that successfully dealing with only one of
them would probably be a significant achievement for a government in its five
years tenure. Within health sector, polio is a unique kind of issue in the
sense that it has both national and international implications. Pakistan needs
to fix polio problem for safety of not only its own people but also of
international community. Therefore, the
country has faced increased pressure from organizations like WHO (world health
organization) to take effective and efficient measures to address the problem
of polio.
It
is for the reasons mentioned above that I want to address the policy question
of what Pakistani government can do to eradicate the polio problem in current
circumstances. In prevailing socio-political circumstances in the country, conflicts
of various kinds including economic, religious, and political have made
addressing the polio problem even more challenging. Question of addressing
polio is not merely a health issue; it is in fact more about how diverse interests
of various stakeholders can be incorporated. In order to devise my answer to
this question, I intend to explore online resources about existing governmental
initiatives and policies, and their effectiveness, and then suggest what needs to
be improved and how it can be done. Client for this policy is Government of
Pakistan.
You present compelling, neutral background information and a clear public need for addressing this issue. I know little of the Pakistani government, but wonder if there is a specific agency or position that would lead public health charges like polio eradication? With whom specifically do international organizations interact? Or is this a collaborative federal crusade? I ask to help you gauge if the government as a whole is the most appropriate client.
ReplyDeleteAs you note, satisfying the needs of diverse stakeholders is an important angle for addressing this problem. I would suggest clearly defining these stakeholders, their priorities, jurisdiction/influence, and resources.
A few other questions that come to my mind: : why has polio spread in Pakistan? Has it throughout the region? If so, what have other countries done to curb it? How crucial is international support in combattng the issues, and how might the government leverage more of it(if it feels it of interest)? How can vaccination, or other preventative methods, become more innovative and effective? I think this is off to a nice start!
Hi Waqar,
ReplyDeleteI am really impressed by not only the policy question but also the way you presented. You neutrally focused on the Polio issue in Pakistan and also included the past and present situation which is the reason why you chose to address this problem. Although I don't know much about Pakistan and also the health issue there, I do realize it is a critical problem to address now.