Polio Eradication: Muslim Scholars Deny Polio Vaccine Rumours

"Scholars urged religious institutions to actively participate in the implementation of the polio eradication campaigns..."

This news piece out of Islamabad, Pakistan, describes a 2-day conference held in Cairo, Egypt, in March 2013 that brought together an international group of Muslim scholars, who discussed strategies for rectifying misconceptions about the polio vaccine in order to protect Muslim children from this crippling virus.

"The killing of fieldworkers is completely against the teachings of Islam and is strongly condemned," reads a declaration approved by the conference. It states that the protection of children against poliovirus is a collective responsibility of the Muslim Ummah (meaning "nation" or "community"), especially its religious and political leaders. The scholars also agreed that vaccination of children is a religious obligation of Muslim parents. The conference recommended that polio-related information and religious decrees be disseminated to parents and communities in language that is simple and easy to understand.

Also discussed was the strategy of religious leaders and institutions closely collaborating with the polio eradication programme in planning effective and appropriate approaches to reach children in the 3 countries where polio is still endemic. The participants decided to hold a meeting with the government of Pakistan, one of these endemic countries, in April 2013.