All that does not glitter

A writing project in school brought home the reality in my country. It does not show me in a good light as a Public Health student, but today I realized that India has the highest rate of increase in the number of Polio cases when compared to all other countries. Granted, there are only three other countries which are reporting polio but ours is the only one which crossed a four hundred, why, which even crossed a hundred last year. Here we are proudly declaring a big growth of our economy, making big salaries in our MNCs when people a little distance away are so poor that they cannot boil water and so ignorant that they throw stones at polio teams. I am serious. Moradabad, a district in the erstwhile UP, reports the highest incidence of Polio in the world and that is because the children in the area suffer such frequent diarrheal illnesses that the vaccine can't even stay enough time in their gut to give them immunity, and the community is so hostile to the polio teams that they pelt them with stones. I would, too. These people do not have water to drink and they are asked to be sanitary. They do not have a doctor to see them when a woman is dying at childbirth or when a person is dying of a scorpion bite, and along come the officials every six weeks to put drops in their mouths without telling them the whys and the wherefores. Does this breed trust?

We have big innovations and run to and fro with monovalent and multivalent vaccines and whatnot. What will we achieve if the people whom this is meant for do not want them? That has to be remedied first. Why wont a doctor agree to serve in the area? Its because he/she will have to work in the dirtiest possible workplace, will not have transport and will not be paid regularly. Let alone these 'luxuries', the physician will not even have a loo at his quarters!

Call it a hangover of watching 'Swades', we have coddled ourselves too long with sweeping statements about our rich culture and tradition. Why does our 'culture' allow us to let a one year old get crippled before he can even walk? It is easy to blame the people for their illiteracy and lack of sanitation, but do they have a choice?

All of us aim at huger salaries, at bigger malls in our cities, at bigger weddings. All these are not unworthy goals, but we need to spare some of our efforts to do something about the kids who are losing their limbs everyday. Its time.