In response to the recent health crisis in the country owing to the pandemic, the rapid transmission of Dengue Fever and the reemergence of the polio virus, the Ministry of National Health Services and Federal Directorate of Immunisation (FDI) updated the National Immunisation Policy after six years. The initiative was taken in celebration of the World Immunisation Week (WIW) and is aimed at enhancing the longevity and quality of life of the average Pakistani. It is vital that we secure the future of the younger generation through using foresight and learning from our present.
According to the World Bank, Pakistan’s current mortality rate is 6.8 deaths per 1000 people. More upsettingly, the infant mortality rate of the country is 65.2 deaths per 1000 births. These are outstandingly devastating figures that signify not only how inaccessible our healthcare system is but points towards a larger problem with the preventative measures that were implemented to enhance national immunity. This is a problem that the immunisation policy seeks to fix.
Already, we have seen immense success when it comes to the Polio campaign as well for Measles-Rubella that provided vaccines to millions of children across Pakistan. Given that the aim of the WIW is to enhance mortality rates by encouraging vaccines, there needs to be an emphasis on educating the local population and removing all taboos associated with vaccinations.
The scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of such vaccines in preventing diseases like measles, tuberculosis, typhoid, influenza and polio is usually ignored as people engage with ideas that they are not Islamic, are a way for the government to control the people or will prevent procreation. Only when the people are willing to accept that vaccines are effective, and the only solution to long-term debilitating viruses and diseases, is when there will be a large enough change in the healthcare policy of the country. People must vaccinate themselves out of their own violation; it should not be imposed ideally.
Another problem is the violence that healthcare workers are subjected to when they go to far-flung areas to vaccine children. This kind of opposition stems from the lack of awareness and a strong lack of belief in vaccines. The National Immunisation Policy must address these concerns of the country and provide solutions.
According to the World Bank, Pakistan’s current mortality rate is 6.8 deaths per 1000 people. More upsettingly, the infant mortality rate of the country is 65.2 deaths per 1000 births. These are outstandingly devastating figures that signify not only how inaccessible our healthcare system is but points towards a larger problem with the preventative measures that were implemented to enhance national immunity. This is a problem that the immunisation policy seeks to fix.
Already, we have seen immense success when it comes to the Polio campaign as well for Measles-Rubella that provided vaccines to millions of children across Pakistan. Given that the aim of the WIW is to enhance mortality rates by encouraging vaccines, there needs to be an emphasis on educating the local population and removing all taboos associated with vaccinations.
The scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of such vaccines in preventing diseases like measles, tuberculosis, typhoid, influenza and polio is usually ignored as people engage with ideas that they are not Islamic, are a way for the government to control the people or will prevent procreation. Only when the people are willing to accept that vaccines are effective, and the only solution to long-term debilitating viruses and diseases, is when there will be a large enough change in the healthcare policy of the country. People must vaccinate themselves out of their own violation; it should not be imposed ideally.
Another problem is the violence that healthcare workers are subjected to when they go to far-flung areas to vaccine children. This kind of opposition stems from the lack of awareness and a strong lack of belief in vaccines. The National Immunisation Policy must address these concerns of the country and provide solutions.
