Afghanistan Polio: UN Plans Nationwide Vaccine Campaign

The UN recently announced a polio immunization campaign in Afghanistan. Beginning on November 8, it aims to reach around 10 million children in the country. For the first time in years, 3 million children in remote areas will have access to inoculation campaigns for the deadly disease.

Another campaign will take place in December, working alongside Pakistan’s national polio inoculation program. Children aged 6 to 59 months will also receive a dose of Vitamin A to ensure better physical strength.

This vaccination drive is of great significance, both at a national and global level. The only case of wild poliovirus reported this year was in Afghanistan, meaning that, through this program, the country has the opportunity to eradicate the disease.

“To eliminate polio completely, every child in every household across Afghanistan must be vaccinated, and with our partners, this is what we are setting out to do,” said Hervé Ludovic De Lys, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan.

According to UNICEF, both campaigns had the full support of the Taliban. Ever since they regained power two months ago, the UN had been in contact with the group’s leadership in order to make this plan a reality.

The collaboration of the Taliban leadership shows their new commitment towards public health. By supporting the drive, they are supporting international efforts towards reaching global immunization and averting outbreaks of diseases.

However, this decision does not align with the group’s previous philosophy. In the past, they rejected vaccination campaigns, suspecting that such projects were used for espionage. The limited flexibility they have shown before makes their agreement such a welcomed surprise.

Following several attacks on polio vaccinators this year, the announcement also came at an important time for campaigns in Afghanistan. A few months ago, several members of vaccine groups were killed in Jalalabad. Similar crimes were committed before in efforts to stop the immunization of children.

“UNICEF is outraged by this attack,” the organization said regarding the killings. “Frontline health workers should never be a target of violence.”

Therefore, the WHO highlights the importance of restarting the vaccination now. It is important that children reach immunization before the attacks are intensified. Immediate action could prevent the further spread of the disease and risk international transmission.

Bibliography

Afghanistan polio: UN plans nationwide vaccine campaign. (2021, October 18). BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58956624

Paybarah, A. (2021, October 19) Taliban Allow Polio Vaccine Program to Restart in Afghanistan. The New York Times. ttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/world/asia/taliban-polio-vaccines-afghanistan.html

Taliban backs WHO polio vaccination campaign across Afghanistan next month. (2021, October 18). UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103322

UN: Afghanistan-Wide Polio Vaccination To Start Next Month. (2021, October 18). Gandhara. https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-polio-vaccine-campaign/31517661.html