The Taliban’s decision to suspend polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan is a devastating setback for global efforts to eradicate the virus. With Afghanistan being one of the two countries where polio has never been stopped, the repercussions of this decision are expected to be significant.
The World Health Organization has confirmed 18 polio cases in Afghanistan this year, signaling a worrying increase from previous years. Discussions are underway to shift from house-to-house vaccinations to site-to-site immunizations in certain areas.
Targeting vaccination teams
Neighboring Pakistan faces similar challenges with militants targeting vaccination teams, hindering eradication efforts. The overall women’s inclusion in vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan remains around 20%, leading to inadequate access to all children in some areas, posing a risk to the program in Pakistan.
The suspension of vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan adds to the existing challenges faced in the global effort to stop polio. Technical mistakes and the inadvertent seeding of outbreaks due to the oral vaccine have complicated eradication efforts across continents.
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