As of this month, the number of new polio cases in Pakistan stands at 210 and the country is bracing for potentially dozens of other cases by year’s end. Pakistan now accounts for 80 percent of global cases and is one of only three countries at risk of exporting the disease outside its borders, according to the World Health Organization.
Yet the sad truth is that we saw another attack on polio team in Northern Pakistan today. Earlier this week the militants in FATA and Khyber Agency had declared the polio vaccination drive anti-Islamic and warned polio workers of dire consequences if they try to administer polio drops to children of their area. This is ridiculous; they are not only putting the children of the area at risk, but children all over. “It’s an emergency, a public health emergency,” said Ayesha Raza Farooq, the polio eradication coordinator for Pakistan’s government. “We want to limit the virus outside of our boundaries and want to work to control it in our boundaries, but it’s certainly a very challenging situation ahead.”
The World Health Organization and USAID, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are working hard to curtail and eradicate polio from Pakistan. It is unfortunate that the terrorists are hampering the efforts with their attacks on polio teams. There are already travel restrictions placed on Pakistanis travelling overseas because of the polio virus. Aziz Memon, chairman of the Pakistan PolioPlus Committee, said, “Polio is no longer an emergency. This has become an outbreak.” Memon said, “The government needs to take full ownership. . . and it needs to be done on a war footing.”
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
Did CIA realize the repercussions when they carried out a fake polio vaccination scheme to try locate OBL? Do they take responsibility for the polio crisis shaping in the country now?
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
Ali Bhai, two 'wrongs' don't make it right. do they?
i think those people opposed to polio vaccinations are a minority in Pakistan but a vocal and violent the Northern areas. they should come to realization that these vaccinations are for the benefit of their own children whom, i'm sure, they love. it's a serious disease that cripples a child which can easily be prevented.
vaccinations aren't anti Islam for sure. those who think it is are not thinking straight. saving a child from crippling diseases is parents' utmost responsibility.
the government must show some spine and force vaccinations in those areas. if need be, bring the army in. it should be considered a war on behalf on the children of the area.
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
Did CIA realize the repercussions when they carried out a fake polio vaccination scheme to try locate OBL? Do they take responsibility for the polio crisis shaping in the country now?
Does that give one justification to block the polio drops campaign and let aggravate the polio crisis? What about dozens of polio health workers who were shot dead?
What CIA did was the best for their country, why are we incapable to do the best for ours??
Honestly I think we even dont realize how harmful it is four our generations to let polio escalate rather than crying over what CIA did.
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
A minority with a gun in hands is a majority
that's when the army steps in to enforce government's writ. local law-enforcement agencies are no match to those terrorists.
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
Many of the people (most of them with no access to TV/Media) are just ill informed by fake mullahs that polio drops is a conspiracy of west against Muslims to make them infertile and stop the population growth. Its duty of legitimate molvi sahabs to come out and run the campaign to give kids polio drops but seems like those molvi sahabs are currently stuck in debating more important issues like men should be allowed to get married (2nd, 3rd and 4th time) without the permission of 1st wife. Of course without scraping the law (that make it mandatory for men to take permission), Islam and our imans are in real and clear danger.
that’s when the army steps in to enforce government’s writ. local law-enforcement agencies are no match to those terrorists.
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Army stepping up is not the answer. Gun control is the answer. Where these guys are getting their ammunition from. We have to cut the supply chain. I said it dozen times in this forum that you cut cut that supply chain, and you have terrorists with no power, hence no terrorism
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
Army stepping up is not the answer. Gun control is the answer. Where these guys are getting their ammunition from. We have to cut the supply chain. I said it dozen times in this forum that you cut cut that supply chain, and you have terrorists with no power, hence no terrorism
well, that's NOT gonna happen in areas where gun is considered jewelry. besides, the government doesn't seem to have the will to see it happen. gun is also a problem where there is no polio vaccination problems, like Karachi.
even if the government decides to do what you have been suggesting, it will take years if NOT decades. the need to vaccinate children against polio is NOW! the damage willbe done sooner than you can anticipate. the first thing that might happen is a complete travel ban. that will hurt Pakistan's ability to earn foreign exchange through expats.
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
Did CIA realize the repercussions when they carried out a fake polio vaccination scheme to try locate OBL? Do they take responsibility for the polio crisis shaping in the country now?
You do know that polio vaccination is administer orally & not through injection, right? So, if CIA was looking for OBL blood sample for DNA analysis how could they have gotten the sample through orally administering fake polio vaccine?
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
You do know that polio vaccination is administer orally & not through injection, right? So, if CIA was looking for OBL blood sample for DNA analysis how could they have gotten the sample through orally administering fake polio vaccine?
Hope you arent expecting village folks to be knowledgeable enough to argue with a doctor on how to administer a vaccine. But yes, just for arguments sake, there is an injectable polio vaccine as well.
To say that people havent been spooked by the fake CIA vaccination campaign is an understatement. Yes manipulative mullahs have put twisted theories in people's minds as well, and yes, terrorists have been attacking polio teams as well...but CIA did contribute to the situation by making people wary of NGOs or health workers coming to their house.
Even while living in Lahore, I have felt uncomfortable at the sight of health workers coming to our house to administer polio vaccines. All they have is a health worker badge and hat. Not nearly enough to convince someone that they are the real deal.
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
I've known people who thought they needed a jharoo wala baba to cure jaundice rather than taking their son to the hospital (their son died due to their nonaction).
Instead of doing a severe campaign to promote education we're still worried about kitni biwian rakhni hain. Priorities of govt and religious leaders is so messed up.
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
CIA did that? That is pretty clever you must admit
I dont know if its clever or not, Pakistan is paying...the situation of polio has become alarming in the past 3-4 years and most of the patients (90-95 %) are from FATA.
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
Does that give one justification to block the polio drops campaign and let aggravate the polio crisis? What about dozens of polio health workers who were shot dead?
What CIA did was the best for their country, why are we incapable to do the best for ours??
Honestly I think we even dont realize how harmful it is four our generations to let polio escalate rather than crying over what CIA did.
Ali Bhai, two 'wrongs' don't make it right. do they?
i think those people opposed to polio vaccinations are a minority in Pakistan but a vocal and violent the Northern areas. they should come to realization that these vaccinations are for the benefit of their own children whom, i'm sure, they love. it's a serious disease that cripples a child which can easily be prevented.
vaccinations aren't anti Islam for sure. those who think it is are not thinking straight. saving a child from crippling diseases is parents' utmost responsibility.
the government must show some spine and force vaccinations in those areas. if need be, bring the army in. it should be considered a war on behalf on the children of the area.
The way the fake vaccination campaign was carried out has helped militants spread the narrative that polio campaign is being used for spying. I dont know if one can blame the tribals in the wake of unrelenting drone campaign. As far as the role of federal government is concerned, lesser said the better.
Attacks against the polio workers have been orchestrated and directed by the Pakistan Taliban and other extreme Islamist groups who claim the inoculation program is a western plot to undermine the country. The violent campaign has intensified since it emerged that the effort to track and kill Osama Bin Laden was enabled in part by a sham vaccination program run by a Pakistani doctor.
Now many Pakistanis see the vaccinators as spies, and the vaccines as a dangerous plot to contaminate Muslims or make them infertile.
The deadly consequences have already begun. Villagers along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border chased off legitimate vaccine workers, accusing them of being spies. Taliban commanders banned polio vaccinations in parts of Pakistan, specifically citing the bin Laden ruse as justification. Then, last December, nine vaccine workers were murdered in Pakistan, eventually prompting the United Nations to withdraw its vaccination teams. Two months later gunmen killed 10 polio workers in Nigeria—a sign that the violence against vaccinators may be spreading.
Re: Do the terrorists understand that polio is a debilitating and contagious disease?
CIA really made a dumb move. Anyway I don't see why they needed a vaccine program to trace him, looks like the Pakistani secret service knew where he was and why they protected the jerk responsible for so much violence doesn't make any sense.
Having said that it's alarming that polio is getting out of control and that villagers are accepting risk of paralysis - they must be seeing the cases. How blind are they?
For the original question ... No, I don't think the terrorists care about the health of the people they purport to stand up for. To them a dead Muslim is a good Muslim.
Idiots. And people join these goons that's what makes no sense.