Polio eradication ‘emergency plan’ launched

Tackling polio has entered “emergency mode” according to the global polio eradication initiative after “explosive” outbreaks in countries previously free of the disease. According to BBC, it has launched a plan to boost vaccination in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the only countries where the disease is still endemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says polio is “at a tipping point”. Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.
One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs. Among those paralysed, 5 percent to 10 percent die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.
The Pakistan government has already declared polio to be a national emergency. A small army of health workers – 88,000 – is targeting 33m children for vaccination.
Bruce Aylward, head of the WHO’s polio eradication campaign, said, “Over the last 24 months on three continents – in Europe, in Africa and in Asia – we have seen horrific explosive outbreaks of the disease that affected adults, and in some cases 50 percent of them died”.
“What it reminded people is that, if eradication fails, we are going to see an huge and vicious upsurge of this disease with consequences that it is very difficult even to foresee right now.” He said the initiative was “now on an emergency footing” which would result in a “big shift” in the way the virus is tackled. The strategy has been summarised as the “relentless pursuit of the unvaccinated child”.
In the global fight against polio, Pakistan is the key battleground, with the highest number of cases in the world. The WHO originally set the year 2000 as its target for polio eradication. Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General WHO, said the organisation was now working “in emergency mode”.
WHO hopes to shake donor countries out of their complacency and support one last effort at eradication. The WHO believes that with one last push, the disease could be eradicated globally, she said.
Unicef executive director Anthony Lake said, “All our efforts are at risk until all children are fully immunized against polio – and that means fully funding the global eradication effort and reaching the children we have not yet reached. “We have come so far in the battle against this crippling disease. We can now make history – or later be condemned by history for failing.”
Encroachments surface at Adiala Road : Encroachers have set up illegal structures at Adiala Road while the Cantonment Board is playing the role of a silent spectator.
Several shops have been built in the area without getting the formal approval of maps. The encroachers have also installed fruit and vegetable stalls on both sides of the road, causing inconvenience for pedestrians.
Meanwhile, Khawaja Corporation Chowk has turned into slaughterhouse as the hotel owners in the area are slaughtering animals here after paying bribes to the Cantonment Board authorities.
The residents of the area have appealed to the station commander and the corps commander to take notice of the situation.