Kathmandu, 13 January 2022: Prabin Jha was 3 when he contracted the poliovirus and consequently developed a disability in his leg affecting his mobility. Jha, now 47, has been using his personal history with polio to actively advocate for routine immunization of children in Nepal.
“When I was growing up, there was little awareness about the disease and even lesser understanding of the need for vaccination among the people in my community,” says Jha who was born in Agleshwora Village in Mahottari District bordering India. “As a result, I was not vaccinated and suffered from the disease, the disability that it brought and the challenges that came with it. I do not want others to experience what I went through, so I encourage people to get vaccinated whenever I get an opportunity,” he says.
Jha currently works as an admin and finance assistant for the Immunization Preventable Diseases (IPD) Programme at WHO, Country Office for Nepal. He is based in Janakpur in Province 2. Prior to joining the organization in 2010, he was working at the Family Welfare Division under Department of Health Services which is responsible for conducting routine immunization programs and mass vaccination campaigns. Although his professional area of work is in administration, Jha notes, he does not shy away from volunteering at vaccination campaigns and engaging in public outreach.
“Whenever I am participating in door-to-door campaigns or reaching out to people personally, I have one simple message. I tell them: Had I been given the two drops of the oral polio vaccine; my life would have been completely different. I would not be living with a disability. This helps people grasp the need for vaccines because they see the consequence of not getting vaccinated,” he says.
Under the National Immunization Programme, oral polio vaccine and inactivate polio vaccine are provided to children across the country as part of routine immunization. WHO certified South-East Asia Region polio-free in 2014. Nepal reported its last case of polio from Rautahat District in August 2010; the same year that Nepal conducted 10 rounds of polio campaigns, including two nationwide campaigns, reaching some 4.5 million under-five children in each campaign.
For a person like Jha, a polio survivor, and a witness to the impact of disease on children’s lives, January 13 holds a special meaning – the day when the Region reported its last case of wild poliovirus.
“It is a great achievement. A golden day for us. And personally, I feel very proud to be working for WHO which contributed significantly to eradicating polio from the region,” he says.