Persuading the Polio Refusers

This article tells the story of Tehseen Aktar, a Lady Health Worker who carries out polio vaccination as part of Pakistan's Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI). Tehseen is responsible for ensuring that each of the children in the 123 households in her area of Lahore is vaccinated during every national and sub-national polio immunisation day. Although most of the families in this particular locality are accepting of the polio vaccine, Tehseen occasionally still encounters those who refuse to immunise their children.

This is not an uncommon phenomenon – according to the article, over 14% of Pakistan's polio cases are reported from unimmunised children. Reasons for refusal vary. In some cases, the family has heard a rumour such as that the vaccine causes infertility or is unsafe. In other cases, families tire of having vaccinators come to their homes so frequently or they become indifferent to the importance of polio vaccination. Since she began vaccinating in 1999, Tehseen has learned to combat refusals at the community level by engaging with religious and local influencers, as well as speaking openly with each of the families in order to convince them. In her words, "No matter how many thousands of excuses they give me I will keep trying. It is my duty to stop this disease and one day I will vaccinate their children."