Afghanistan begins anti-polio campaign
Kabul seeks to vaccinate children in former ISIL areas
KABUL // The government of Afghanistan yesterday launched a polio vaccination campaign to help children in areas previously held by ISIL militants. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic – a fact blamed on opposition to immunisation by radicalised groups, who claim the vaccines are a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims or a cover for spying.
The latest five-day drive aims to vaccinate about 9.5 million children, said a health ministry spokesman, with officials hoping to exploit reduced fighting in the east after several successful US-backed military operations.
“We have already started contacting locals in areas retaken from ISIL,” he said. “We will send our teams to those areas, but if they face any problems, we will ask locals to transport their children to our clinics in safer areas.”
Extremists had been in control of several districts in eastern Nangarhar province on the border with Pakistan, before they were pushed out by Afghan and Nato forces. Last month, Afghan troops backed by US air strikes seized large parts of the mountainous district of Kot in Nangarhar, a key ISIL stronghold where the extremists set up Sharia courts and training camps.
Najibullah Kamawal, head of the health department in Nangarhar, said some districts had been unreachable for more than a year, leaving thousands of children without medical aid. “It is a challenge, it is risky, but we are determined to go to every village and vaccinate the children,” he said.
Noorul Habib, a teacher in Kot district, said the elders and local population were determined to support the campaign. “We know polio is dangerous, we will do our best to support this campaign. All the elders have sent messages to militants not to disrupt the campaign. We have also told them not to destroy mosques, clinics and schools,” he said.