Hello, I’m Namrata, a new contributor. I broke into the North Dakota headquarters a few months ago and ANNA decreed I was too small to be kicked out into the winter cold. When it warmed up everyone had gotten used to me, so finally Abhi and Ennis said I might as well earn my keep since I keep stealing their magazines out of the mailbox. One of the ones I like to steal is New Scientist, and there was some sad news from the desh in the latest issue:
Last month Abdul Ghani Khan, a senior Pakistani doctor, was killed by a remote-controlled bomb shortly after urging villagers to vaccinate their children. [link]
According to the Daily Times of Pakistan Dr. Khan was killed in Bajur Agency after trying to convince addressing a convening local jirga, or council; he was greeted angrily in an area where opposition to the vaccine has spread by word of mouth and radio sermon.
“As soon as we reached there, an armed prayer leader warned us against visiting the area. Some locals said: ‘On one hand, our enemy (a reference to the United States) is bombing us for no reason while on the other hand you are coming here disguised as polio campaigners to spread vulgarity,†[an injured companion of Dr. Khan] told Daily Times at the hospital. (link)
The day before the Daily Times had reported that 24,000 children in Northern Pakistan have gone unvaccinated, and earlier Pakistan confirmed a sharp uptick in polio cases (28 to 39), concentrated in the borderlands with similarly troubled Afghanistan. To put this all in perspective, the two nations apparently did successfully immunize 2 million children only a few months ago.Clerical exhortation can cut both ways:
In response, senior Muslims in Pakistan have issued pro-vaccination fatwa decrees. Some mothers are reportedly getting children vaccinated secretly for fear of local reprisals.[link]
Last fall Saudia Arabia began requiring vaccination certificates for young pilgrims from polio-stricken countries; while many of these families are too young to make the voyage to Mecca, the news might travel back and influence parents, especially mothers.
Compared with fathers, however, mothers, when addressed alone, seem less hostile to the vaccine. “Women are often willing to have children vaccinated, but don’t dare defy their husbands or fathers-in-law,” said Shazia Irum, 27, a health worker in Pakistan’s programme to offer basic care to mothers and children.. . .The Pakistan government has also encouraged leading clerical figures to launch polio vaccination drives and messages about the benefits of the vaccine have been broadcast from mosques in many towns and villages.(link)
Women sneaking away from their homes to immunize their children underscores the one iron-clad rule of development–educate and empower women, and you will help the whole society. Another common theme in articles about the crisis is distrust of foreign vaccines and foreign visitors. If you’re a brave, gold-hearted diaspora volunteer who might come off as more desi than pardesi, check out the options. Despite the grim news, when I look at the numbers I can’t help but feel that the martyrdom of Dr. Khan was not for nothing, and that diligent, unflagging efforts will ultimately succeed. It’s just important to nurture the local infrastructure and very important to not give up. Persistence pays off, much as I learned by sneaking in here.
Welcome Namrata, when I first saw your name, I went to the about us page to see if I had been blind to something.
When are people going to understand that the welfare of kids is something that you do not toy with?
Polio drops remain a problem in India also. Even the most educated ones are often sceptical and say, ‘Why is government pushing it so much and spending billions in it, week after week, months after months’. Why not other critical diseases don’t get that kind of funding.
Then the Jewish conspriacy theory is floated by many critics. Then many say it is targeted at Muslim homes more than others and so much nonsense. Kya kiya jaaye. Ulema have issued statements this year in Uttar Pradesh and other states where polio has reared its head again. Khair.
wow i think all sepia bloggers are on the current page. i’ve never seen it like that before.
you tell em navratra. where is pervez in all of this btw?
How can one spread “vulgarity” by providing a vaccine to children that saves people’s lives. And about the whole conspiracy thing – the 2 main things malnourished underpriveleged kids in India need right now are health and shelter. There is a huge probability that these kids will suffer from polio as opposed to other diseases. Close your eyes and look back at the last traffic light you ever stopped at when you went to India or travelled on an Indian road. Chances are everyone has seen a poor kid either affected by stomach odema(swollen stomach but frail body because of malnourishment) or polio. A “conspiracy” is not reason enough to provide them with the medical attention they desperately need. Agreed, they are doing a poor job of funding in India but atleast we’re getting there. Look at the estimate of homeless in the US for example. People who die because of poverty. They sure as hell can have better lives if the government redirected its funding from military to civil from the start. There would be no poor people, higher cost of living and no imperialistic/democratic conquests around the world that caused 9/11 to happen in the 1st place. In perspective, funding for polio is a GREAT thing. If we can get rid of that, maybe we can move on to better lives from them.
As a young, idealistic college student – a long time ago :-), I worked with a group who went out to the slums of Mumbai to educate women about vaccinating their kids with polio vaccine. What’s sad is that the same misconceptions that existed then exist now as well. Still, one grain of rice at a time I suppose.
And “armed prayer leader” is just wrong. What happened to make prayer not war?
this is an awesome post, namrata, and welcome.
i think that the part in which you wrote about the mothers being less hostile to the vaccines underlines a certain mode of access that could be present for womyn docs that motivates me to become a physician. being a female and a doctor for communities in which the feminine space is sacred and guarded is like being handed a vip pass backstage…you get the privilege to learn the secrets and get up close and personal with some of the wisest and strongest people in the world all while healing them and their children. can’t wait to get out there where health care is needed most…
Welcome, Namrata 🙂
This is so sad, and is unfortunately the case in many north African countries as well. The justification was not “spreading vulgarity” in those instances, but rather, that the U.S. was trying to poison people and make them permanently infertile. A part of me just feels my heart drop when I think of all the children who suffer or die because of this, but another part of me is frustrated with the U.S. and its worsening relations world-wide. Oftentimes people’s fears aren’t completely unfounded – they reference examples in which similar cases have happened. Really a tragedy 🙁