The World Health Organization (WHO) says a victory against polio in Afghanistan is a victory for the whole world. According to WHO, polio has been detected in parts of the world long considered polio-free. The organization says as long as polio is anywhere, it remains a threat everywhere.
Officials of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) say over 10 million children under the age of five have been vaccinated against polio during the current year.
“With continued efforts of our partners over 95 percent of the country’s children under the age of five have been vaccinated against polio across Afghanistan,” said Dr. Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).
He said a small number of children have not been vaccinated due to the careless of families in the country, adding that another campaign of polio vaccination would be soon started in eastern provinces as Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar and Nuristan.
According to the MoPH spokesman, polio has not been eradicated from Afghanistan so far, but there’s hope that it will be fully eradicated in coming years as cases of polio has considerably reduced in the country. During the year 2022, only two cases have been detected in the country.
Currently, various public awareness teams are active in remote areas and districts to provide information to the people about the benefits of polio vaccination. In addition to men’s awareness teams, women’s awareness teams are also active in remote areas. Imams in mosques and community leaders also take part in public awareness programs.
Meanwhile, WHO and UNICEF by welcoming the decision by the Islamic Emirate leadership supporting the resumption of house-to-house polio vaccination across Afghanistan say the new campaign will soon start in the country.
According to the respective organizations, the vaccination campaign, which begins soon, will be the first in over three years to reach all children in Afghanistan, including more than 3.3 million children in some parts of the country who have previously remained inaccessible to vaccination campaigns. A supplementary dose of vitamin A will also be provided to children aged 6 to 59 months during the upcoming campaign.
With only one case of wild poliovirus reported so far in 2021, Afghanistan has an extraordinary opportunity to eradicate polio. Restarting polio vaccination now is crucial for preventing any significant resurgence of polio within the country and mitigating the risk of cross-border and international transmission.
Samiullah Momand
Over 95 percent of children vaccinated against polio in Afghanistan
