Preventable suffering

For most of us, polio is no longer an issue. In fact to a large extent it is not even considered a threat. While there remains no cure for the disease, polio vaccines have been available since the late 1950s. Along with a long list of other inoculations, polio vaccines are part and parcel of parents' responsibility to their infants.

It is neither a unique nor uncommon obligation for parents to ensure that their child is properly immunized. Such was the global campaign that by 1993 the total number of polio patients in the world had reportedly dropped to just 100,000, practically all of which were on the Asian and African continents.

The Indonesian government joined in the global effort and launched its own intensive campaign. For three consecutive years -- 1995 to 1997 -- the government sponsored nationwide immunization. Then between 2000 and 2002, regional level inoculations were also carried out again in various provinces.

As a result, reported polio case severely declined. Under the aegis of the World Health Organization there was confidence that the world could be rid of the disease by 2005. But continued poverty and war in some countries have delayed the realization of a polio-free world.

Recent news of a possible polio outbreak in West and Central Java has caused consternation among many.

How did this happen? How could something so preventable and believed to be long eradicated here come back to haunt our most prized possessions, our children?

The scientific answer probably lies in the high mobility of our population. According to local health officials, the virus is a strain found in Africa and they have theorized that it was probably spread from migrant workers returning from abroad.

This theory is supported by the fact that the latest and worst outbreak of polio in the last decade occurred on the African continent.

While the scientific explanation is a helpful answer to help trace and take immediate steps to deal with the disease, the more profound answer to the question as to why such an alarming outbreak occurred is more thought provoking: negligence and ignorance.

Despite massive campaigns, the availability of vaccines at a relatively affordable price even for villagers, a large number of parents continue to neglect inoculating their children.

Their excuse is rooted in simple ignorance and a lack of understanding of basic health. The most recent reports continue to suggest that despite the outbreak and being personally visited by health officials, some continue to refuse to have their children inoculated.

They fear the fever or side effects that often accompany immunization.

The government's reaction has so far been swift and direct. Immunization is offered free and health officials have been instructed to be proactive by directly visiting homes to inoculate infants.

Some Rp 8 billion has been allocated from the state budget to fund the program. WHO and UNICEF have also pitched in sizable amounts to help quell the further spread of polio.

While we can prevent polio, once infected there is nothing but regret since there is no known cure for the disease.

The outbreak is not simply a lesson for us, it is a warning. A warning that parents, the government and the general public should never let their guard down against these types of disease.

Our apathy concerning malaria has allowed the disease to again spread despite the country once being declared malaria-free.

New strains and increased cross border mobility creates fresh challenges never previously imagined. The threat of these diseases is as much of a danger to our security and well-being as terrorism and war.

While the parents of the infected children must shoulder the brunt of the blame for failing to immunize their children when they should have, the government too must take responsibility for being inattentive. With a poor population caught in the midst of tough economic times, it should have been apparent that many would make cuts to their household spending. One of these austerity measures may well have been cutting down on immunization.

Though there is a vaccine against polio, none is available to cure ignorance. Health education, rather than the provision of medicine and vaccines, could be the greatest challenge in combating polio.