|
 Naikwali Shah Momim, the National Emergency Operations Coordinator
for the polio programme at Afghanistan's health ministry, told
Reuters the campaign had started in various parts of the country on
Monday, but added there were several hurdles around a shortage of
trained staff.
The campaign, which is aimed at reaching over 3 million children,
had received Taliban backing, which would allow teams to reach
children in previously inaccessible parts of the country, the WHO
said.
"The urgency with which the Taliban leadership wants the polio
campaign to proceed demonstrates a joint commitment to maintain the
health system and restart essential immunizations to avert further
outbreaks of preventable diseases," said Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO
Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, in a statement.
However, Momim said that more training was needed for teams in
remote areas, so the programme would initially start in places such
as Kabul.
Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan are the last countries in the
world with endemic polio, an incurable and highly infectious disease
transmitted through sewage that can cause crippling paralysis in
young children.
[to top of second column] |
 Polio has been virtually
eliminated globally through a decades-long
inoculation drive. But insecurity, inaccessible
terrain, mass displacement and suspicion of
outside interference have hampered mass
vaccination in Afghanistan and some areas of
Pakistan. Several polio workers
have been killed by gunmen in eastern Afghanistan this year, though
it was not clear who was behind the attacks.
According to WHO figures compiled before the collapse of the
Western-backed government in August, there was one reported case of
the one wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in Afghanistan in 2021,
compared with 56 in 2020.
Until the disease is eliminated completely, it remains a threat to
human health in all countries, especially those with vulnerable
health systems because of the risk of importing the disease,
according to health experts.
(This story corrects organisation of Naikwali Shah Momim from WHO to
Afghanistan's ministry of health)
(Reporting by Gibran Peshiman; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield;
Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
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