Political Aspect
The political aspects of Pakistan have had a strong correlation with its peoples general overview of health and in our case, polio.
As Pakistan’s polio crisis continues to grow, political issues in the country are spiraling out of control (Walsh, 2014). The crisis intensifies with more and more outbreaks and is supplemented by severe militant violence, refugee displacement, and political chaos. These issues have solidified Pakistan’s role as the central global incubator of a disease that other conflict-torn countries have managed to hold in check. From 2013-2014, polio cases quadrupled (Walsh, 2014). Statistics like these sway the country to point fingers at the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, and other politicians who have been making promises that the polio crisis would come to an end.
As Pakistan’s polio crisis continues to grow, political issues in the country are spiraling out of control (Walsh, 2014). The crisis intensifies with more and more outbreaks and is supplemented by severe militant violence, refugee displacement, and political chaos. These issues have solidified Pakistan’s role as the central global incubator of a disease that other conflict-torn countries have managed to hold in check. From 2013-2014, polio cases quadrupled (Walsh, 2014). Statistics like these sway the country to point fingers at the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, and other politicians who have been making promises that the polio crisis would come to an end.
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As ample amounts of aid and vaccination opportunities come into Pakistan and anti-polio workers are put to work, Pakistani militants look at it as an opportunity to target political figures. The first attack of anti-polio workers occurred in December of 2012 and the death toll for these workers in Pakistan is continuing (Nishtar, 2010). The reason for these attacks on this particular group of workers (anti-polio) is not known for certain, however there are two plausible ideas, first, to terrorize local populations and government workers, and second, to stop the house-to-house movement of polio workers who some terrorist groups suspect of carrying out surveillance activity to identify wanted persons (Abimbola, 2013). This was a tactic the US used to track down Osama Bin Laden. The polio crisis not only affects the individual with the disease but the community as a whole. Mistrust of government officials, protests, and violence are added to the mix, intensifying the problem and causing mass chaos and no progression in the right direction.
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Even though there are places to get the vaccination and the vaccine is available, there are not many people utilizing it. To make matters worse, those who are giving vaccinations are being unethical about it and are involved in petty theft. One major problem is that the vaccinators are charging money for vaccination cards and syringes that they receive at no cost and then selling part of the vaccine stock to private hospitals. According to Nishtar (2010), “These already-prevalent issues have been growing more serious in recent months due to worsening governance, notably preferential treatment in staff deployment and rapid turnover of program managers and they appear to be partly responsible for the resurgence of polio from 2008.”
Overall, these issues in Pakistan with polio along with the brutality of Pakistan militants and political duress build up among each other and worsen the situation of eradicating polio. The people of Pakistan find it hard to trust in the vaccine and the vaccinators causing polio to remain an issue.
Overall, these issues in Pakistan with polio along with the brutality of Pakistan militants and political duress build up among each other and worsen the situation of eradicating polio. The people of Pakistan find it hard to trust in the vaccine and the vaccinators causing polio to remain an issue.