In Pakistan, one of the most devastating casualties of militancy has been the fight against polio. Although polio is a preventable disease, children in Pakistan remain vulnerable because those working to eradicate the disease are themselves being targeted.

Hundreds of polio workers and security personnel have been killed over the years. They are not combatants but harmless individuals moving door to door, carrying vaccines to protect children from lifelong paralysis. By targeting these polio workers, militants are weaponising fear against the most vulnerable segment of society.

This obstruction of polio eradication efforts perpetuates a preventable suffering, which is a direct attack not just on a critical global health mission but on humanity itself. These health workers carry vaccines, not weapons, yet extremist groups hunt them as though they are enemies rather than individuals dedicated to safeguarding children’s futures. By obstructing vaccination efforts, militant groups effectively place children at risk of a preventable and life-altering disease.

One prime reason for polio prevalence in Pakistan is this complex interplay of security threats to the polio teams. The longstanding suspicions regarding the polio vaccine are fuelled by extremist narratives that see vaccine drives as a Western propaganda to make Muslim children infertile. The Islamist extremist groups, most notably TTP, have employed this narrative to attack, kill and abduct polio workers. With increasing attacks on polio teams in recent years, it became impossible to reach all children, hence the resultant rise in polio cases in Pakistan.

Furthermore, extremist groups like TTP propagate the false narrative that polio drops are haram, as they contain pig extracts. In the tribal societies of K-P and Balochistan, many people fall victim to these false narratives, depriving their young ones of this life-saving vaccine. Another reason cited by these terrorists is the use of a fake vaccination drive by CIA and the alleged involvement of a local doctor to collect DNA samples of Bin Laden’s family prior to conducting the operation for his execution in 2011.

Militants understand that successful public health campaigns strengthen the state’s legitimacy and social resilience, which they try to weaken by attacking polio workers. Pakistan made significant progress regarding polio over the years, but areas affected by militancy experience delayed vaccination campaigns.

A large segment of the population in Pakistan is struggling with poverty, insecurity and misinformation. This provides a conducive environment for terrorist groups to destabilise societies and erode public trust

Just a few months back, social media was rife with fake videos and posts regarding the cervical cancer (HPV) vaccine and that it is causing permanent infertility in young girls. This misinformation significantly impacted the country’s first nationwide HPV vaccination campaign, leading to millions of parental refusals to get their girls vaccinated.

These conspiracies around vaccine drives not only endanger health workers but also make parents fearful of protecting their children. However, diseases do not discriminate. Every child who is unvaccinated remains vulnerable. Every attack on a vaccinator increases the chance of another child being crippled for life.

The issue extends far beyond the realm of public health into the ambit of human security. A country that is unable to eradicate polio faces economic and social consequences. Travel restrictions, strain on healthcare systems and reputational damage are just a few to mention. Most importantly, this persistent insecurity undermines people’s confidence in the state’s ability to protect them. To rebuild this lost faith, the state has to think beyond military responses to dismantle terrorism and spread awareness among the masses. Ultimately, the fight against polio is larger than a public health campaign. It is a struggle between those working to protect human life and those willing to endanger it for ideological objectives.