Polio vaccination made mandatory for birth, marriage, death certificates

PESHAWAR: The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has taken a bold step to eradicate the polio disease in the province by linking the issuance of key government certificates with vaccination against it.

Within Pakistan this year, there were 64 cases of polio noted as of January 2024, which further highlights the necessity to take action against polio.

The KP government has made sure very strict orders are announced this year to require parents receiving all vital certificates- birth, marriage, and death- for having vaccinated their children in at least seven tehsils in the Peshawar District against polio.

As instructed by the deputy commission, it is now mandatory to present a verification certificate from the district health office confirming polio vaccination for acquiring these documents that have become so significant.

This order would require that parents must comply who had been hesitant to vaccinate their children against the poliovirus. Unfortunately, there are still pockets of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where polio vaccination is a major difficulty since parents do not allow their children to have the vaccination because they associate it with all kinds of misconceptions regarding the vaccine or have less information on it.

Taking notice of this distress, the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has recently launched an anti-polio drive to administer anti-polio drops to children below five years.

He reiterates the commitment of the government toward the eradication of the polio virus in Pakistan and that the government has recently witnessed an alarming number of new infections, at least 60 cases have been reported with much more expected. Nonetheless, he is assured that working together, the federal and provincial governments can meet this challenge.

While launching the anti-polio campaign, he thanked international partners supporting Pakistan in the fight against polio such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO, and the Government of Saudi Arabia.

The efforts of the Prime Minister to eradicate polio in Pakistan show the government’s commitment to ensure better health and wellbeing for all the citizens, especially for children. By linking the vaccination to an official certificate, the KP government is taking a step ahead to ensure the protection of all children in the region from this crippling disease.