WHO, UNICEF launch polio vaccination

The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Agency have launched a four-day effort to immunize millions of children in Afghanistan against polio, the first campaign in three years.

The program, announced by the Ministry of Public Health and backed by the Taliban, aims to target the 3.3 million children who have not been vaccinated since 2018, the last time health workers were able to access to limited areas of the country.

Intensified fighting between former West-backed government forces and the Taliban has made vaccination increasingly difficult over the past three years. Afghanistan remains one of only two countries where the disease is still endemic. The other is Pakistan.

With the Taliban Islamic Emirate controlling almost the entire country, including the capital, Kabul, hope is renewed that the nation's children will be taken away without fear for the safety of their families, health workers and volunteers involved in the campaign. . . Farida, a vaccinator in Kabul city, said she had waited three years to get her job properly.

The 26-year-old spent Monday going from house to house in town to immunize children.

She said their original plan was for teams to deploy to the capital to reach as many families as possible. Initially, their goal was for each team to visit at least 100 homes each day, but she said overcrowding in Afghan urban centers meant some teams had already had to double their daily goal.

He said that most families have shown little hesitation so far, but some remain hesitant. “Some families simply lack education.Others, however, strongly believe in the disinformation they hear from other people, " said. A child's behavior depends on how he is raised, not on medicine. '

After spending the past three years working on polio awareness and small vaccination efforts, Farida says 90% of families are aware of the disease and its dangers, which she thinks is. of great help to the ministry's efforts.

Farida said it is important that awareness campaigns continue across the country so that they can educate people who might believe in conspiracy theories and falsehoods. statements.

Involvement of woman

The involvement of Farida and alternative young ladies within the immunization campaign is additionally a very important step at a time once the religious movement has come back under attack for its unclear policies towards women returning to the personnel in Afghanistan.

Last week, Human Rights Watch discharged a report locution feminine aid employees had been prohibited from operating in thirty one of the nation’s thirty four provinces.

Heather Barr, Associate Director of HRW’s Women’s Rights Division, says the inclusion of feminine vaccinators could be a positive step, however that the religious movement should do all it will to make sure their safety, particularly outside Kabul.

“It is imperative that female vaccinators can have a written statement from the front to create bound that they won’t face any gettable harassment once they’re out on the sector,” he said.

Barr says thus far, the power of feminine aid employees to travel regarding their work was supported a verbal agreement from the religious movement leadership, however having a paper document would do a lot of to shield them.

Shortly once taking power in August, the religious movement had referred to as on feminine government employees to remain reception till it may assure that its forces wouldn't discriminate against or harass them.Female physicians were quickly exempted from that order.

The most recent spherical of immunization efforts could be a joint effort between the globe Health Organization and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund that has been backed by the Taliban’s Muslim Emirate.In the past, such efforts were hindered by the 20 year war between the Western Supported Muslim Republic and therefore the religious movement, that was the most important armed opposition cluster within the country.

In recent years, some residents within the districts of Nangarhar province were able to persuade the religious movement to permit native teams to shoot youngsters, however those efforts were restricted in scope and needed native elders to win the support of regional religious movement forces, that were usually suspicious regarding the intention of such campaigns.

Currently that the religious movement has seized the country, its leadership has shown larger temperament for such efforts to resume.

In an exceedingly statement discharged to the media, UNICEF’s Representative in Afghanistan, Hervé Ludovic DE Lys said: “To eliminate infantile paralysis fully, each kid in each house across Afghanistan should be insusceptible, and with our partners, this can be what we have a tendency to ar starting off to try to to.”

Consistent with the UN agency and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, the programme, that is aimed toward youngsters between the ages of six and fifty nine months, are replicated in December.

The Taliban’s acceptance of the campaign has been seen as a positive sign of the cluster operating with international organisations at a time once several nations and international organisations have shown hesitation towards direct involvement with the Muslim Emirate.

Thus far no nation, as well as Asian country and Islamic Republic of Iran, that round-faced yearslong accusations of aiding and abetting the religious movement once it had been the armed opposition, has recognised the Muslim Emirate because the legitimate government of the country.