National Advisory Group on Polio Eradication doesn’t have member from KP

PESHAWAR: The National Strategic Advisory Group for Polio Eradication and Immunization formed recently by the federal government doesn’t have a single member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa even though the province has the highest number of polio cases in the country.

Also, polio is sometimes described as a Pakhtun problem in Pakistan as 89 percent of those affected by the crippling disease are Pakhtuns from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Karachi and elsewhere in the country, but none of the seven members of the advisory group is a Pakhtun.

According to an official statement, the National Strategic Advisory Group for Polio Eradication and Immunization was constituted in consultation with the Prime Minister with his Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza as its head. It added that the group was formed to depoliticize health and benefit from the wider advice of seasoned minds.

For depoliticizing the faltering anti-polio programme, PPP’s Shahnaz Wazir Ali and PML-N’s Ayesha Raza Farooq have been named as members of the advisory group. ShahnazWazir Ali in the past served as special assistant to the prime minister on social sector during the PPP rule. Ayesha RazaFarooq was focal person to the prime minister on polio during PML-N rule.

Other members of the advisory group include ZamirAkram, Pakistan’s former permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Khalid HussainMagsi who is chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Health and belongs to the BalochistanAwami Party (BAP) that is an ally of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), DrNosheen Hamid, a PTI lawmaker working as parliamentary secretary for health, and Dr Sanjay Gangwani, a PTI MPA from Sindh.

All the provinces except Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have representation in the advisory group. Apart from the PTI, the PPP, PML-N and BAP have been given representation. Dr Sanjay Gangwani is from the minority Hindu community. All major ethnic groups have been given representation in the advisory group except the Pakhtuns.

Of the 91 wild polio cases reported in the country this year, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has as many as 66. This includes the polio cases from erstwhile Fata, which has now been merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In fact, Fata was polio-free for two years before its merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite its poor healthcare system and low EPI coverage due to insecurity and opposition to polio vaccination by the militants.

Sindh is next with 13 cases, followed by Balochistan with seven. Punjab has reported five cases so far. In case of Balochistan and Sindh, primarily Karachi, most of the polio affected children are also said to be Pakhtun.

Despite all these facts, the federal government in its wisdom opted not to give representation to the Pakhtuns or to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the incidence of polio is more than all the provinces combined, in the advisory group.

The PTI has been in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since winning the 2013 general election and then also the 2018 polls, but the federal health ministry couldn’t find someone capable from the province belonging to the ruling party to become part of the advisory group.