Polio vaccination campaigns have resumed in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the last two countries in the world where polio is endemic, following a hiatus imposed by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restart has been accompanied by new guidelines, to help ensure the safety of patients, and health workers.

In an interview with UN News, Ms. Gul described how she and her colleagues reacted to the arrival of COVID-19 in Pakistan, and why she continues to put herself at risk.

“I have been aware of the importance of vaccination from an early age. I remember my mother telling me and my siblings that we must complete our vaccinations. She would tell us how harmful polio is, and how we could be paralysed if we caught it.

From the beginning of my career with UNICEF, though, I have been confronted with people who were very resistant to the idea of vaccination. In more isolated communities, in particular, there are many misconceptions about vaccines. Some people think that the vaccine will make them infertile, or that it is a Western conspiracy. Sometimes we would be subject to abuse, or even physical attacks.

So, I am used to risk, but the beginning of the pandemic was, nevertheless, a very unsettling time for me and my colleagues. In Karachi, where I’m based, lockdown began on 22 March. Our office gave us 10 days leave and told us to stay at home. But, after returning to work, I caught COVID-19. 

I was then quarantined and became very weak. I had headaches, fever and shortness of breath. My family were very concerned by my condition and, eventually, they took me to the hospital. 

Thanks to Allah, I survived, but I am not completely recovered, and my body is still weak. I have swollen feet, and if I walk for more than 10 minutes, I will find myself sweating, and out of breath.

Despite this, I went back to work. We are health workers: our job is to take care of other people’s children, by vaccinating as many of them as possible. Yes, COVID-19 is dangerous, but polio is still endemic in this country. We have to focus on both these diseases.

As for my own personal safety, I am a little afraid, but I think that I will be okay if I follow the standard procedures: wear gloves and a face mask, use hand sanitizer, and make sure that I frequently wash my hands. 

Growing resistance

The lockdown has had some very serious consequences. Children’s health is definitely being put at risk due the pandemic. A friend of mine, for example, has a child who is nearly two years old, and she has been too scared to go to the hospital to complete her child’s polio vaccinations. 

And we are seeing the negative effects that the lockdown is having on the wider community: many people have lost their jobs, and have been asking us for ration provisions, and other health services. Sometimes we have received abuse. Last year, before the pandemic, we had seen some real improvements in the ways that the community responded to us. But now, we are worried that their resistance to us, and our programme, may be increasing.

But this doesn’t put me off. We know that we have the support of many people, including political leaders, and other influential members of the community, and it gives me inner happiness to know that I am helping my country, as part of a national cause.”

These nations provide a cautionary tale because they show how “progress does not mean victory”, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his latest update on the crisis. 

“That’s why it’s vital that countries are able to quickly identify and prevent clusters, to prevent community transmission and the possibility of new restrictions,” he told journalists. 

Cases top 22 million 

Globally, there are now more than 22 million cases of COVID-19, and 780,000 deaths. Meanwhile, the number of people requiring hospitalization remains high, the WHO chief reported. 

“No country can just ride this out until we have a vaccine,” he warned. 

“A vaccine will be a vital tool, and we hope that we will have one as soon as possible. But there’s no guarantee that we will, and even if we do have a vaccine, it won’t end the pandemic on its own.” 

Mr. Tedros underlined WHO’s commitment to countries as they work towards the safe re-opening of their economies, societies, schools and businesses. 

A tale of two pandemics   

The WHO chief also expressed hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will be defeated in under two years, or less time than it took to end the Spanish Flu pandemic, through global solidarity and the use of vaccines. 

Mr. Tedros was responding to a journalist’s question about similarities between the two crises. 

The 1918 influenza pandemic lasted from February 1918 to April 2020. 

Mr. Tedros pointed out that while the “disadvantage” of globalization means the new coronavirus can spread faster, people today have the “advantage” of technology and knowledge.  

“So, we hope to finish this pandemic before less than two years, especially if we can pool our efforts together, and with national unity, global solidarity – that’s really key – with utilizing the available tools to the maximum and hoping that we can have additional tools like vaccines, I think we can finish it in a shorter time than the 1918 flu,” he said. 

PPE-related corruption is ‘murder’ 

Corruption that deprives frontline health workers of personal protective equipment (PPE) is “murder”, Dr. Tedros unequivocally stated on Friday. 

He was responding to a journalist’s question about health professionals in some nations going on strike because they lack appropriate PPE, amid reports of government corruption related to COVID-19 funds. 

“Any level of corruption is unacceptable, or any type of corruption is unacceptable. However, corruption related to PPE, lifesaving, for me it’s actually murder,” he said.   

“Because if health workers work without PPE, we are risking their lives. And that also risks the lives of the people they serve. So, it’s criminal, and it’s a murder, and it has to stop if it is happening anywhere.” 

Speaking earlier in the briefing, WHO’s Dr. Michael Ryan highlighted how the pandemic has shown both the best and worst of humanity. 

“Certainly, corruption is something that is not new to this world. And at this point, it’s really, really, important that governments govern and that we see very clear, transparent action by governments,” he said. 

While authorities must ensure that health workers are properly equipped and receive their salaries, protests should not occur at the expense of the health and wellbeing of patients, said Dr. Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.

Upcoming guidance on masks for children 

WHO and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, are set to issue guidance on the use of masks by children. 

The UN agencies will provide advice for public health officials, child health professionals, educators and others about making the decision on where and when masks should be worn. 

Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and WHO lead on COVID-19, said research continues into how the disease affects children as understanding about virus transmission among this population is limited. 

Although children of all ages can be infected, the majority tend to develop mild disease. However, children have developed severe disease, and some have died. 

DRC Ebola outbreak ‘concerning’ 

WHO is urging support for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the Government is seeking $40 million to fight an Ebola outbreak which emerged in Equateur province in early June. 

Ebola has spread to 11 of the 17 health zones of the province, located in the west of the country.  As of Thursday, there were 100 cases and 43 deaths. 

“With 100 Ebola cases in less than 100 days, the outbreak in Equateur Province is evolving in a concerning way,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.  

“The virus is spreading across a wide and rugged terrain which requires costly interventions and with COVID-19 draining resources and attention, it is hard to scale-up operations.” 

WHO said a strike by health workers has further complicated the situation, as it has affected vaccinations, safe burials and other activities. 

The UN agency and its partners continue to support the DRC Government, including by helping to screen more than 640,000 people for the disease.

Citing alarming new data, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), stressed that “urgent and sustained action” is needed to address the worsening food and nutrition situation throughout the country.

Hunger trending upward

Since the situation in Burkina Faso was last assessed in March, acute food insecurity has increased more than 50 per cent, according to the latest analysis.

And in a country already reeling from conflict and climate change, the UN survey points out that COVID-19 has intensified people’s inability to earn money to cover their daily needs.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is further exacerbating a crisis that was already deteriorating at a worrying pace, pushing more and more people into severe food crisis and acute food insecurity,” said Dauda Sau, FAO Representative in Burkina Faso. 

Emergency phase

Meanwhile, the provinces of Oudalan and Soum in the Sahel region have been driven into the emergency phase of food insecurity, as defined by the analysis. 

Some three per cent of people in these northern areas are said to be experiencing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity and facing extreme food consumption gaps, which are also resulting in alarming levels of acute malnutrition. 

“We’re seeing an alarming deterioration in food security across the worst-hit parts of the country,” said David Bulman, WFP Country Director and Representative in Burkina Faso. 

And many of those worst affected have been displaced from their homes by fighting in the region.

“We need to take immediate action to reverse this trend in the two provinces. It would be nothing short of a disaster were a whole generation to be crushed by conflict, displacement and hunger,” he added.

Changing the course

Many of those most at risk are subsistence farmers and livestock herders. 

While urgent humanitarian life-and livelihood-saving assistance is essential to address immediate needs, so too are longer-term investments in rural livelihoods and social services which, experts say can help reinforce social cohesion and contribute to peace.

“We can reverse this trend if we act now by supporting the Government to protect livelihoods, rapidly increase local food production and availability, and support rural populations to access food,” the FAO Representative stated.

Both FAO and WFP have been responding to the crisis in Burkina Faso by providing food assistance coupled with livelihood protection and support for displaced people and the host communities that receive them.