Polio Eradication: How the War on Terror Has Led to the Persistence of Polio in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria

Polio Eradication: How the War on Terror Has Led to the Persistence of Polio in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria

Harkins 300

In 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a campaign to eradicate the polio virus from the world population (Bari 2006). Since 1988, the WHO has used polio vaccines to successfully interrupt transmission of the disease to new individuals in all but three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria (WHO 2012). This paper examines how The War on Terror, stated by President George W. Bush to be a war against every terrorist group of global reach and the governments that support these groups, has led the populations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria, as well as vaccinators and health officials in these countries, to adopt the culture of war (Bush 2001). The purpose of this paper is to examine how this culture, marked by insecurity, hostility, and distrust, has affected the polio eradication campaign. The insecurity felt by the populations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria led Muslim and Taliban leaders in these countries to act out against all Western activity within their borders, including the polio vaccination campaign (Jegede 2007). Although Nigeria is not directly linked to the War on Terror, it participated in the culture of war through its shared Islamic faith with Afghanistan and Pakistan. By participating in the culture of war, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria have harmed eradication efforts and have allowed the polio virus to persist within their countries. If the war continues, it risks potentially unleashing the virus, paralyzing hundreds of thousands of children (Walsh 2012).

https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/auchs/2013/panelb1/2