Success Story
THE immunisation programme against Polio has yielded positive
results over the past three years. The fact that not even a single case of Polio has been
traced in the past ten months provides ample grounds to term the programme a major
success. The efforts on the part of the Health Ministry have been forthcoming in
eradicating the once virulent disease. Though there have not been any cases of Polio in
the past ten months as reported by the Ministry, we still need to push ahead with the
immunisation drive. In keeping with the proclamation of the World Health Organisation to
eradicate Polio completely by the year 2000, His Majesty’s Government has been
launching immunisation programmes every year. The third immunisation programme is
scheduled to be held throughout the country on December 1, 2001 and January 19, 2002. The
government aims to administer Polio drops to nearly four million children under the age of
five through the mobilisation of seventy four thousand volunteers this time around. It
should be noted here that the success of the programme would undoubtedly hinge on
widespread media campaigning on the programme. The role of the media is particularly
significant in that it could carry out the task of raising widespread awareness among the
denizens about the risks their children could pose if they failed to get them immunised.
Official statistics reveals that there were around thirty five thousand polio cases in the
year 1988. This figure was expected to decrease by 90 per cent in the course of a decade.
Only 723 new cases of Polio were detected in the year 2000. Of the total cases, 272 lived
in the South East Asian countries. This year 132 new cases have been detected in the
region as of October 1 and of these 114 were from Indian States of Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar. Though there have not been any new cases in Nepal, it still needs to take the
precautionary measures to avoid the possibility of the malady entering the country any
time across the open border. It is indeed a heartening news that the health authorities in
Nepal have also included mopping up in districts vulnerable to Polio penetration. The
mopping up needs to be carried out with due earnestness in order to bring success to the
third immunisation programme in the offing.
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