By Shafeeq Hudawi, TwoCircles.net
Kozhikode: Muslim organizations in Kerala have joined hands to battle against diphtheria, which has made a comeback in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts; courtesy denial to vaccination. In a response to the grim scenario, Muslim leaders have exhorted the public to provide their children with proper vaccination.
The two districts with Muslim majority have turned an headache for the Health Department with repeated cases of diphtheria. Muslims form 75 and 45 per cent of the total population of Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. Last month, two boys from Malappuram, Mohammed Afsad and Mohammed Ameen died in Kozhikode Government Medical College due to diphtheria. According to the health department officials, the two boys, hailing from Pulikkal and Tanur were left without proper vaccination. Last year, two teenagers, studying in Anwarul Islam orphanage, run by Muslim management at Thirurkkad of Malappuram district, died due to the same dangerous disease. The two boys were also given no vaccination.
According to the figures with Reproductive Child Health (RCH) programme, a total of 31,489 and 6,233 children, aged below five years, are left without proper vaccination in Malappuram and Kozhikode. In Malappuram out of these children, 4791 underwent no any kind of vaccination while 26,698 are partly immunized. In Kozhikode, there are 547 unimmunized children while 5686 children are partly vaccinated.
The children, by not getting vaccinated, remain vulnerable to dangerous diseases like tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, meningitis, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis-B, and poliomyelitis.
Though the health department officials refused to name anyone, they say that anti vaccination campaigns by orthodox Muslim groups lead to the resistance in Muslim strongholds.
The vaccination drives have been getting a lukewarm response at Muslim pockets like Thiruvallur, Valayam, Kuttyadi, Cheruvadi, Thalakkulathur and Kodancheri in Kozhikode districts while health workers face resistance from Muslim strongholds including Tanur, Kuttayi, Valavannur, Mankada and Vengara in Malappuram district. Malappuram district medical officer says that most of the children are denied vaccination by parents or relatives, who often fall prey to the false campaigns by various groups, which include orthodox Muslim groups.
Following the diphtheria deaths in 2015, the National Health Mission had launched Mission Indradhanush to vaccinate unimmunized children after Kozhikode was identified as medium focus districts and Malappuram as high focus district with yielding poor results in vaccination drives. The vaccination drives were initiated with the active participation of Muslim leaders, clerics and Qazis of various localities in the two districts. IUML leaders Panakkad Syed Sadiqali Shihab Thangal and Syed Munavvarali Shihab Thangal along with Nadapuram Qazi Ahmed had administered drops to the children in order to tempt the Muslims to take proper vaccination following the request by district administrations.
If media reports are taken in to consideration, there are 10 diphtheria cases have been reported so far this month in Malappuram. Muslim organizations like IUML and Jamaat- e- Islami have woken to the crisis by batting for vaccination. IUML district committees, which convened a meeting, have exhorted the functionaries of local self governing bodies and party cadres to actively corporate and involve in vaccination activities while Jamaat-e-Islami extended the same request to its members.
Jamaat’s medical wing Ethical Medical Forum (EMF) has started campaigns to draw the public towards vaccination citing it’s necessary for the well being of the society. EMF state president Dr Mohammad Ismail, who admitted that resistance against vaccination was prevailing in Muslim strongholds, said that his outfit had started campaigning for vaccination. Jamaat assistant ameer Sheikh Mohammed Karakkunnu said that it would join the organizations in favour of the vaccination.