How Can We Spread Awareness for the Neglected Issue of Polio-Eradication?
Polio or Poliomyelitis has been a life-threatening disease that created fear throughout the world and paralyzed many children for life. Due to minor negligence and carelessness, this disease can affect a child’s future and can completely shatter his/her self-confidence. Polio was once a disease that haunted society badly, but as education and awareness grew, its effect got minimized, but still, it exists. Now world’s poorest and most marginalized communities suffer from Polio and still attacks the most vulnerable children.
October 24th is celebrated as ‘World Polio Day,’ and its focus should be to avail every child with polio vaccine irrespective of the barriers of richness and poverty. It isn’t just about spreading awareness on the very day, but it should aim to create a polio-free world so that no future generation witnesses such a disease ever.
Here are the ways through which we can spread the word to eradicate polio and save the community from poliovirus:
By Making It a Personal Scenario
The biggest problem with an almost ending issue is that we stop giving attention to it. We don’t see any polio-effect in our territory and think that it’s gone. But the harsh reality is faced by the most marginalized communities who are still not aware of the harm polio may bring to the present generation as well as future ones.
To save humankind from this fearful disease, we need to make it a personal matter rather than relying on other health & humanitarian organizations to take action for its eradication. We should run physical campaigns among the less-educated communities and spread awareness in relation to its symptoms and outbreak.
Also, the children suffering from this disease should be allowed to share their thoughts and feelings about the deadly effects of this disease and the importance of the polio education campaign. By making it a ‘more personal’ matter, we can leave an everlasting effect on the communities who neglect the importance of IPV (polio vaccine) and its utility. This is how we would make sure that every child in the country will be able to live a life free of this debilitating disease.
By Spreading the Awareness Through Social Media
Social Media is a blessing in disguise, and one who knows how to use it for good can actually do miracles through it. By keeping physical campaigns, we can touch the less-aware communities directly and collect their stories from spreading the word more through social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, etc.
Nothing can be more effective than sharing the stories of polio-suffering children and their own experiences dictating the importance of polio awareness. We can share such instances through social media, run live campaigns online, along with the physical one. This way, we can share our thoughts from a confined region with the whole community.
With this kind of public awareness campaign, we can be sure that the children who may not have gone through these experiences will know how bad this disease can affect.
Elevate Education, End Polio
In order to increase poliovirus awareness, we need to provide the poorest and less-equipped communities with more knowledge about the disabilities this disease may introduce. They need to know about its causes and the importance of being attentive towards polio vaccination so that they may also contribute to a world, i.e., free from this kind of disability.