Pakistan: The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that Pakistan's failure to stem the spread of polio has triggered a global health emergency. The WHO is recommending all residents must show proof of vaccination before they can leave the country and should present a polio vaccination certificate.
The WHO's emergency measures also apply to Syria and Cameroon, which, along with Pakistan, pose the greatest risk of exporting the polio virus.
According to Pakistani press, Pakistan is the only country with endemic polio that saw cases rise last year. The number of Pakistanis with polio rose to 93 from 58 in 2012, accounting for more than a fifth of the 417 cases globally in 2013.
A WHO official said the virus has spread recently to Iraq, Israel and Syria, and has been found in sewage in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and greater Cairo. These outbreaks have been traced back to Pakistan, according to Pakistani press. Polio also appeared in China two years ago.
An official of UNICEF said that Pakistanis will face immense difficulties in visiting other countries, especially those that are polio-free.
Comment: The Organization recommends that the emergency measures to prevent polio's export should remain in place for up to 12 months.
There has been a backlash against vaccination in northwestern Pakistan as the result of the CIA's manipulation of a vaccination program to help in the hunt for bin Laden. Chronic instability in the northwest also has hampered public health programs in general. All the most recent cases of polio have been discovered in the northwest.
It is almost astonishing that polio has not been reported in India, considering their proximity.
Violent instability and public health intersect in the outbreak of diseases that attack all parties to a conflict and their civilian populations. Disease is always a conflict multiplier. Most of the countries that were free from polio and now have it again also have chronic internal violence. Others might be considered victims of a globally integrated travel system.
Phi Beta Iota: Since we are pretty certain the “Bin Laden” killed in Abbotabad was another of the false Bin Ladens, the vaccine story that came out in relation to tracking him is probably a cover story gone wrong. However, when combined with the eugenic agenda demonstably present in some of the global vaccination programs including those sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (sterilization results as a planned side effect), and when taking into consideration the legitimate fears of US citizens about vaccination side-effects, this all results in push-back. Our point: INTEGRITY MATTERS. Whenver a public service is subverted by other agendas, the integrity of that service becomes suspect; the public loses faith; and the EFFICACY of the public service then goes down.
See Especially:
Ideology, Violence Prevent Polio Eradication in Pakistan
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