By Muhammad Luqman
Social media website, Facebook has assured Pakistan that it will play its role to counter propaganda by anti-vaccine people which had hampered polio programme last year and became a reason for increase in the number of polio cases to the mark of 136.
A delegation of Facebook, led by Regional Director for Southeast Asia and Emerging Countries Rafael Frankel, held meetings with officials concerned and visited the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) on Polio in the capital, Islamabad.
Last year, outbreak of measles was observed in the United States and after that it was noted that a number of people don’t vaccinate their children because of videos on social media. Because of it, US health departments decided to campaign against anti-vaxxers, English newspaper, Daily Dawn reported.
Facebook’s willingness to join hands with Pakistani authorities has also created an opportunity for the South Asian country to counter the propagana on social as a number of videos are shared on social media claiming that vaccines were Haram or a conspiracy against Muslims.
In 2018 we faced an issue that a number of posts of anti-vaxxers were shared in Pakistan triggering the masses to refuse vaccination of their children and that led to rise in number of polio cases last year, Health Ministry officials said.
According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of National Health Services, during a meeting with the delegation, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza highlighted the importance of communicating correct health information online and stressed the need to counter harmful content on social media.
“The generous support to be provided by Facebook is instrumental in reaching out to parents and caregivers with accurate health information,” Dr Mirza said.
“We welcome this opportunity to visit Pakistan and admire the work that has been done by the polio programme. We stand behind the national and global efforts to create a polio-free world and will continue to support these efforts,” the statement quoted Facebook Regional Director for Southeast Asia and Emerging Countries Rafael Frankel as saying.
