Taliban agree to new polio vaccination across Afghanistan

ISTANBUL, Turkey — U.N. agencies are gearing up to vaccinate each of Afghanistan’s children nether 5 against polio for the archetypal clip since 2018, aft the Taliban agreed to the campaign, the World Health Organization says.

For the past 3 years, the Taliban barred U.N.-organized vaccination teams from doing door-to-door campaigns successful parts of Afghanistan nether their control, seemingly retired of suspicion they could beryllium spies for the authorities oregon the West. Because of the prohibition and ongoing fighting, immoderate 3.3 cardinal children implicit the past 3 years person not been vaccinated.

The Taliban’s reported statement now, aft becoming the rulers of Afghanistan, appeared aimed astatine showing they are consenting to cooperate with planetary agencies. The longtime militant insurgent unit has been trying to triumph the world’s designation of its caller authorities and re-open the doorway for planetary assistance to rescue the crumbling economy.

The Taliban enactment did not corroborate its agreement, and Taliban officials did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

But WHO and the U.N. children’s bureau UNICEF said successful a connection Monday that they welcomed the determination by the Taliban enactment supporting the resumption of house-to-house polio vaccinations crossed the country.

Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan are the lone countries successful the satellite wherever polio remains endemic. The illness tin origin partial paralysis successful children. Since 2010, the state has been carrying retired regular inoculation campaigns successful which workers spell doorway to door, giving the vaccine to children. Most of the workers are women, since they tin get amended entree to mothers and children.

But ample sections of the state person been retired of their scope successful caller years. In parts of the south, particularly, the prohibition by the Taliban was successful effect. In different areas, door-to-door campaigns were intolerable due to the fact that of warring betwixt the authorities and the insurgents, oregon due to the fact that of fears of kidnappings oregon roadside bombs. In immoderate places, hard-line clerics spoke retired against vaccinations, calling them un-Islamic oregon a Western plot.

WHO said a caller nationwide vaccination run volition statesman connected Nov. 8, followed by different synchronized with Pakistan’s polio vaccination run successful December.

The estimated people colonisation is Afghanistan’s 10 cardinal children nether 5, including the much than 3.3 cardinal who could not beryllium reached since 2018, Dr. Hamid Jafari, WHO’s manager of polio eradication for the Eastern Mediterranean region, told The Associated Press.

“Restarting polio vaccination successful each areas of Afghanistan present volition forestall a large resurgence of polio outbreaks wrong the state and guarantee determination is nary planetary spread,” Jafari said.

“This is an highly important measurement successful the close direction,” said Dapeng Luo, WHO Representative successful Afghanistan. He said it was a bully motion that aggregate campaigns are planned. “Sustained entree to each children is indispensable to extremity polio for good.”

On March 30, 3 women were gunned down successful 2 abstracted attacks arsenic they carried retired door-to-door vaccinations successful the eastbound metropolis of Jalalabad. It was the archetypal clip vaccination workers person been killed successful a decennary of door-to-door inoculations against the illness successful Afghanistan.

Such attacks person been much communal successful Pakistan, wherever astatine slightest 70 vaccinators and information unit connected to vaccination campaigns person been killed since 2011.

Jafari said the Taliban’s erstwhile prohibition successful its areas was “mainly for information reasons,” not retired of absorption to vaccinations themselves. The Taliban, helium said, person committed to “the implicit extortion and information of each wellness workers and each frontline workers” successful the campaign.

In Pakistan, officials person struggled to flooded heavy nationalist suspicion implicit vaccines peculiarly since the U.S. utilized a fake vaccination run to unearth the hideout of al-Qaida person Osama bin Laden. Hard-line clerics and militants person stoked the fears by depicting polio vaccinations arsenic a Western crippled to sterilize Muslim children.

Afghanistan and Pakistan person seen an summation successful cases. In Afghanistan, 56 caller polio cases were reported successful 2020, the highest fig since 2011, erstwhile 80 cases were registered. Only 1 lawsuit of the chaotic microorganism has been reported successful 2021 successful Afghanistan.

“This determination volition let america to marque a elephantine stride successful the efforts to eradicate polio,” said Hervé Ludovic De Lys, UNICEF Representative successful Afghanistan. “To destruct polio completely, each kid successful each household crossed Afghanistan indispensable beryllium vaccinated, and with our partners, this is what we are mounting retired to do,” helium said.

A supplementary dose of vitamin A volition besides beryllium provided to children aged 6 to 59 months during the upcoming campaign.

Jafari said the Taliban authorities had agreed connected 3 cardinal aspects — information for wellness workers and vaccinators, mobilization of wellness authorities and the caller enactment for the campaign, and communications done religious, tribal and assemblage leaders and media to physique spot successful the campaign.

He urged families not to beryllium suspicious of the vaccinators going location to house, saying the lone volition is to support children. “They should spot the program. They should spot the vaccine.”