POLIO ERADICATION: PLACING HEALTH BEFORE CONFLICT

Saturday, 2nd of August 2014

POLIO ERADICATION: PLACING HEALTH BEFORE CONFLICT

In a recent interview with Reuters, Bill Gates was optimistic that efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria could result in the country being declared free of the disease by 2018. Although a commendable goal, ongoing violence in Nigeria makes this timescale unrealistic. National polio eradication efforts have already been hindered by local insurgency groups, and, until health is prioritised over conflict, polio will continue to spread between those who are vulnerable.

Aside from Nigeria, polio is also endemic in other conflict-ridden countries, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan, and 38 cases have emerged in Syria and Iraq. Access to vaccines in some countries is made almost impossible by ongoing conflict. Indeed, a July report by UNICEF on polio in the Middle East outlines the many challenges faced by people working in Syria to eliminate polio. Health workers have difficulty vaccinating the 765 500 children who live in areas under siege or inaccessible because of fighting. Vaccinators are trying desperately to reach every child, frequently being held at gunpoint or having their medical equipment targeted, and often risking their lives to travel into dangerous areas. To prevent polio transmission, the report recommends that health workers must be granted unrestricted access across the country, and health centres and equipment, which are already in short supply, should never be targeted.

On May 5, the WHO Director-General Margaret Chan announced that the spread of polio was a public health emergency of international concern. And earlier this year, WHO placed travel restrictions on Cameroon, Pakistan, and Syria to prevent the international spread of polio, meaning that people from these countries are required to receive a dose of polio vaccine before they travel. Although a step in the right direction, polio spread needs to be curbed within countries themselves. In countries of conflict, it is essential for the neutrality of health care to be respected and that a long enough ceasefire is maintained to allow all children access not only to polio vaccines but also to all basic health care that is currently denied.