Sughra Ayaz, a polio worker in southeastern Pakistan, has spent the past decade traveling door-to-door to convince parents to vaccinate their children against polio. However, her efforts have been hindered by rampant misinformation and intense pressure to succeed.
Despite billions of dollars invested in the campaign, officials claim that progress is being made, citing 3 billion children vaccinated and an estimated 20 million people spared from paralysis. But workers like Ayaz report instances of falsified vaccination records, unqualified vaccinators, and poor vaccine storage.
Ayaz says she’s seen “fake finger marking” – placing the ink used to show a child is vaccinated on their pinky even when no vaccine has been given. She attributes this to “so much pressure” from campaign officials.
Critics argue that the oral polio vaccine, which has been used for decades, poses significant risks and should be phased out. Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director, says there’s “no management” in the campaign and that WHO is persisting with an outdated strategy.
The campaign’s failure to address these issues has led to mistrust among local communities, who blame the campaign for not providing adequate support for other health needs like measles and tuberculosis. In some areas, villagers have even staged boycotts of immunization campaigns, demanding instead access to medicine, food, and electricity.
As the polio eradication effort teeters on the brink of collapse, experts are calling for a major course correction. With over $20 billion spent and nearly every country involved, it’s clear that something must be done to address the campaign’s deep-seated problems.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/05/health/polio-eradication-missteps