How Afghan, Pakistani clerics battle polio vaccine misinformation

Maulana Tayyab Qureshi, the apical cleric successful Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, has seen up adjacent the devastating effects of polio.

Two of his ain kin were erstwhile paralyzed, victims of a scourge that has been vanquished worldwide yet refuses to spell distant from Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.

“Had their parents not neglected [to person their children vaccinated], their children wouldn’t beryllium disabled today,” Qureshi said of his relatives.

As the main khateeb, oregon Friday supplication leader, of the northwestern province, Qureshi preaches this connection astatine each accidental — Friday sermons astatine his 17th period Mahabat Khan Mosque successful Peshawar, Eid prayers erstwhile upward of 40,000 radical congregate, meetings with colony elders.

“I’m precise wide cut: I archer them, it’s free. It doesn’t outgo you anything. Why don’t you instrumentality it seriously?” Qureshi said successful an interrogation with VOA.

Qureshi is not the lone Pakistani cleric advocating vaccination. Several renowned scholars person issued decrees successful its support, with a notable displacement successful attitudes. Vaccine hesitancy, an intractable obstacle to eradicating polio, has waned, helium said.

A erstwhile infamous bastion of vaccine absorption extracurricular Peshawar has present embraced immunization.

“The fatwas person had a large impact,” Qureshi said.

Yet, arsenic Pakistan and Afghanistan question to eradicate polio, misinformation remains a cardinal hurdle. While immunization rates are mostly precocious successful some countries, pockets of absorption persist on the border, jeopardizing eradication efforts.

To antagonistic vaccine misinformation, nationalist wellness officials progressively person turned to influential clerics similar Qureshi. As the trusted voices wrong their communities, these spiritual leaders play a important relation successful dispelling harmful myths and misconceptions astir vaccines, experts say.

“The champion mode to combat done this is empowering trusted voices successful communities to propulsion backmost connected it and supply existent information,” said Kai Ruggeri, a Columbia University wellness argumentation prof who has written astir vaccine disinformation.

The stakes are high. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the lone countries wherever polio remains endemic. And arsenic World Polio Day arrives this year, determination are renewed concerns implicit their quality to destruct the disease.

The neighboring countries were erstwhile connected the brink of going polio-free. But persistent insecurity coupled with cross-border movements has fueled a resurgence.

Pakistan has recorded 40 cases and Afghanistan astatine slightest 20, this year. This marks a important summation from the six cases each reported past year.

A setback came past period erstwhile much than 1 cardinal Pakistani children missed vaccinations, and Afghanistan’s Taliban concisely suspended immunization campaigns.

Oliver Rosenbauer, a spokesperson for WHO’s polio eradication programme successful Geneva, noted that misinformation is not the lone obstacle to eliminating polio; a deficiency of infrastructure, insecurity and colonisation density besides contribute.

“The important constituent is the polio microorganism doesn't attraction wherefore a kid is not vaccinated,” Rosenbauer said successful an interview. “It’s very, precise bully astatine uncovering that unvaccinated child.”

Polio, a crippling illness that tin pb to paralysis and death, has agelong been eradicated globally acknowledgment to cosmopolitan immunization efforts. For astir radical astir the world, polio is simply a distant representation oregon adjacent a relic of history.

But successful Afghanistan and Pakistan, the illness remains a stark world contempt important advancement successful caller decades. Its scars are disposable to those who look, Rosenbauer said.

“It’s a illness that parents inactive see,” helium said. “If you locomotion astir Karachi oregon Kabul, you’ll inactive spot radical with polio connected the streets.”

This “respect for the disease” explains wherefore vaccine hesitancy remains astir 1.5% successful Afghanistan and Pakistan, importantly little than galore Western countries.

Yet successful densely populated areas, specified arsenic the borderline regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, lingering absorption tin forestall efforts to eradicate the virus.

Leading the complaint against the vaccine, militants connected some sides of the borderline person waged convulsive attacks connected polio workers and their escorts. Their assertion that the vaccine programme violates Islamic instrumentality and is utilized for surveillance has fueled resistance.

Hundreds person been killed successful some Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In January, astatine slightest 5 policemen were killed and much than a twelve injured successful a large onslaught connected polio teams and information unit successful northwestern Pakistan.

According to the Emergency Operations Center successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, militants person carried retired 21 attacks against polio teams and information escorts successful Pakistan this year.

Mainstream clerics person pushed back.

In 2019, salient Islamic scholars from Afghanistan and Pakistan declared the polio vaccine harmless and Sharia-compliant. They stressed the “moral duty” of parents to person their children vaccinated.

In 2022, the al-Azhar University, the Sunni Muslim world’s astir prestigious instauration of spiritual education, warned against decrees banning the polio vaccine successful Pakistan.

Last month, astir 200 renowned spiritual scholars successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared enactment for polio vaccination.

Qureshi, the main khateeb of KP, was among them.

The scholars “took a beardown basal not lone regarding the polio vaccine but each wellness measures by the ministry of health,” Qureshi said.

Across the border, Taliban wellness officials are waging their ain run against vaccine misinformation adjacent arsenic attacks connected wellness workers, often claimed by ISIS, person persisted.

Ehsanul Haq Hanafi, a cleric and elder authoritative successful the wellness ministry, understands the clergy’s power successful Afghan society.

“People perceive to the ulema and judge what they say,” Hanafi said successful an interrogation with VOA.

Among the myriad misconceptions astir the vaccine, helium said, immoderate Afghans judge it corrupts morals oregon causes sterility. Others deliberation it tin accelerate puberty, helium said.

“This is unscientific and baseless disinformation,” helium said.

To combat this, Hanafi travels astir the state to conscionable with locals and mullahs to person the skeptics. While immoderate clerics stay opposed, astir judge the vaccine erstwhile its benefits are explained, helium said.

“We can’t person 100% of the people, but 80% hold with america and person their children vaccinated,” Hanafi said.

VOA’s Ihsan M. Khan contributed to this article.