Successive government’s failure to rein in the resurgent polio outbreak has created an international shame for India. The World Health Organisation is toying with the idea of issuing a travel advisory for foreigners visiting India as well as for Indians going abroad.
As per the proposal, which was to come for voting in the World Health Assembly meeting in Geneva last month, everybody visiting the land of Taj should be vaccinated against polio. At the same time, anybody travelling out of India must carry polio immunisation certificates. Admitting that such a travel advisory would have disastrous consequences for India’s economic growth, union health minister Dr Anbumai Ramadoss said that the resolution was held back temporarily. “But we are on a sticky wicket,” he said at a review meeting on polio scenario.
The issue came up in a big way in the Geneva meeting with some of the member countries were in favour of pushing a resolution on travel advisory for voting. Diplomatic efforts were needed to scuttle the initiative and hold back the resolution temporarily.
India is one of the four countries where the wild polio virus still survives; the other three being Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. But India is the largest reservoir of the virus and exported the virus to other nations in the last two years. Last year, there was resurgence of polio as 676 cases were reported in India. In comparison as many as 60 cases have been reported in the last four months.
The previous United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan conveyed his worries to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
During the annual Haj pilgrimage in last October, Saudi Arabia government made it mandatory for people travelling from these four polio affected nations to carry polio vaccination certificate. The travel advisory was issued as Saudi was close to get the WHO’s polio-free certificate, which the kingdom finally received in March.
Interestingly, WHO’s international health regulations will come into effect next week when reporting of polio will be mandatory for all WHO members. It’s not mandatory now and top WHO officials apprehend a SARS-like situation when China kept the outbreak under wraps.
After reviewing the situation with health ministers of ten polio affected states, Dr Ramadoss announced having eight national and sub-national immunisation drives for polio vaccination in the next nine months.
ONUS ON POOR
New Delhi, dhns: The Centre plans to launch a National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) to provide improved healthcare facilities to slum dwellers.
The new mission will target extremely poor sections in large cities, said union health minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss. The Prime Minister has also granted permission to start the mission. Although the health minister did not reveal details of the new mission, it is likely that focus will be on delivering the facilities to slum dwellers. Morover, some of the ongoing health schemes may be merged in the NUHM.