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In Afghanistan, a paramedic marks the finger of a child who has been vaccinated against polio (archive image)
Photo: MUHAMMAD SADIQ / EPA-EFE / REX
For the first time in years, a nationwide polio vaccination campaign is starting in Afghanistan.
The campaign will start on November 8th with the support of the Taliban government in Kabul, announced the United Nations.
The aim is to immunize millions of children against poliomyelitis who are still unprotected.
With this move, the new rulers in Kabul are making a radical change of course.
Nationwide vaccination campaigns could not be implemented in the past three years - partly because the radical Islamic Taliban prevented such vaccination campaigns in the areas they controlled.
The ongoing fighting between the militia and the then government in Kabul also made all door-to-door campaigns difficult.
Taliban want to ensure the safety of vaccination staff
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Children's Fund Unicef welcomed the support of the Taliban in a joint statement.
The plan is to immunize over 9.9 million children under the age of five, more than a third of whom live in previously inaccessible areas.
The Taliban government has also pledged its support to ensure the safety of vaccination staff, said WHO and Unicef.
Women should also be involved in the vaccination campaign.
Afghanistan and its neighboring country Pakistan are the only countries in the world where polio remains widespread.
There is great skepticism about vaccinations in both countries.
For decades, polio was considered an extremely great threat to children worldwide.
The disease attacks the nervous system and can lead to paralysis within a short time, especially small children under five years of age are affected.
In 1988 the world community decided to eradicate the disease.
In August 2020, the WHO declared that all African countries were polio-free.
lau / AFP
