The World Health Organization’s (WHO) campaign to eradicate polio has been marred by mismanagement, cultural barriers, and a flawed strategy, according to internal documents and officials.
Despite dropping over 99% in cases worldwide, polio remains entrenched in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The WHO’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative has been criticized for its reliance on an outdated oral vaccine and failure to adapt to obstacles on the ground.
Workers, experts, and former WHO staff have raised concerns about falsified vaccination records, untrained workers administering vaccines, and sloppy reporting. In some areas, only half of the intended area was covered in 2017, with 250 households missed entirely.
Health officials in Afghanistan and Pakistan say cultural barriers, misinformation, and poverty hinder their efforts to vaccinate children. Some workers have even been instructed by managers to falsely mark children as immunized.
Experts blame the oral vaccine for some of the campaign’s problems, citing rare instances where it can paralyze a child or mutate into a form that starts outbreaks among unimmunized people. However, the WHO insists on using the oral vaccine as part of its eradication strategy, citing success in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Critics argue that there is no accountability for campaign failures and that donors are not seeing results despite an annual budget of over $1 billion. Former WHO scientists have called for a “major course correction” to address the campaign’s problems, but their concerns have fallen on deaf ears.
The campaign faces another hurdle in the form of mistrust of the vaccine among some communities. Misinformation about the vaccine has spread widely, with some blaming it for fertility issues or claiming it contains pig urine.
As the WHO continues to struggle to eradicate polio, critics are demanding that the organization takes a more nuanced approach to addressing the campaign’s problems and provides greater accountability for its efforts.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/polio-vaccine-campaign-who-gates-afghanistan-pakistan-341b1da7b7c33dbffa33fe9d9a52065e