Polio Vaccination Campaigns in Afghanistan Suspended
The Taliban has halted polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, resulting in a significant setback for global polio eradication efforts, as stated by the United Nations. Afghanistan remains one of the only two countries, alongside Pakistan, where polio has not been eliminated. The decision to suspend the immunization efforts came before a scheduled vaccination campaign in September, with no explanation provided by the Taliban government.
Despite confirmed polio cases rising in Afghanistan this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that discussions are ongoing about shifting from house-to-house vaccinations to site-specific locations like mosques. Previous campaigns had utilized house-to-house methods that proved effective, especially during a nationwide campaign earlier in 2024.
In regions like Kandahar, where the Taliban has opted for less effective site-to-site vaccinations, many children remain susceptible to the virus. The inclusion of women in vaccination efforts has also been limited, contributing to inadequate immunization of children. The WHO has warned that setbacks in Afghanistan could jeopardize Pakistan’s vaccination efforts due to population movement between the two countries.
Health officials stress the necessity of synchronized vaccination campaigns across both nations to eradicate polio, emphasizing the importance of cooperation to prevent further spread of the disease.
The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the U.N. said Monday. It is a devastating setback for polio eradication, since the virus is one of the world’s most infectious and any unvaccinated groups of children where the virus is spreading could undo years of progress.
Afghanistan is one of two countries in which the spread of the potentially fatal, paralyzing disease has never been stopped. The other is Pakistan. It is likely that the Taliban’s decision will have major repercussions for other countries in the region and beyond.
News of the suspension was relayed to U.N. agencies right before the September immunization campaign was due to start. No reason was given for the suspension, and no one from the Taliban-controlled government was immediately available for comment.
A top official from the World Health Organization said it was aware of discussions to move away from house-to-house vaccinations and instead have immunizations in places like mosques.
The WHO has confirmed 18 polio cases in Afghanistan this year, all but two in the south of the country. That is up from six cases in 2023.
“The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is aware of the recent policy discussions on shifting from house-to-house polio vaccination campaigns to site-to-site vaccination in parts of Afghanistan,” said Dr. Hamid Jafari from the WHO. “Partners are in the process of discussing and understanding the scope and impact of any change in current policy.”
Polio campaigns in neighboring Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
As recently as August, the WHO reported that Afghanistan and Pakistan were continuing to implement an “intensive and synchronized campaign” focusing on improved vaccination coverage in endemic zones and an effective and timely response to detections elsewhere.
During a June 2024 nationwide campaign, Afghanistan used a house-to-house vaccination strategy for the first time in five years, a tactic that helped to reach the majority of children targeted, the WHO said.
But southern Kandahar province, the base of Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, used site-to-site or mosque-to-mosque vaccination campaigns, which are less effective than going to people’s homes.
Kandahar continues to have a large pool of susceptible children because it is not carrying out house-to-house vaccinations, the WHO said. “The overall women’s inclusion in vaccination campaigns remains around 20 percent in Afghanistan, leading to inadequate access to all children in some areas,” it said.
Any setback in Afghanistan poses a risk to the program in Pakistan due to high population movement, the WHO warned last month.
Pakistani health official Anwarul Haq said the polio virus would eventually spread and continue affecting children in both countries if vaccination campaigns are not run regularly and in a synchronized manner.
“Afghanistan is the only neighbor from where Afghan people in large numbers come to Pakistan and then go back,” said Haq, the coordinator at the National Emergency Operation Center for Polio Eradication. “People from other neighboring countries, like India and Iran, don’t come to Pakistan in large numbers.”
There needs to be a united effort to eliminate the disease, he said.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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