KABUL: The Afghan Public Health Ministry, now run by the Taliban, recently announced initiating a nationwide polio vaccination campaign targeted at immunising children under five years.
The Taliban had been the most significant blockade against vaccination teams from the United Nations (UN) doing door-to-door campaigns in Afghanistan, suspicious that foreign team members could be intelligence from the previous government or ‘the West’ doing espionage.
In some places, far-right clerics called vaccines un-Islamic or claimed they were a Western agenda. In others, door-to-door immunisations couldn’t be carried out due to the insurgency and violence between clashing groups. Because of this, around 3.3 million children have been left unvaccinated over the past three years.
“Polio will either kill our children or leave them with a permanent disability, so this is the only option we have; to implement the vaccination,” stated Dr Qalandar Ebad, the acting public health minister in the new Taliban regime.
Taliban used to heavily push back against campaigns like these before their regime came into power. However, Afghanistan is one of the only two countries where polio still exists, causing rampant partial paralysis in 10 million children under age 5.
“Inoculation of these children is a colossal task, and it is one that the Public Health Ministry cannot do alone. We need all the support possible,” said Nek Wali Shah Momin, a health ministry official in the polio eradication department.
The Taliban’s recent push for vaccines showcased their willingness to work with international organisations to the global community. A more ‘tolerant’ Taliban has been trying to get international validation to restart international aid for their unstable economy.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) said they welcomed restarting house-to-house polio vaccinations under Taliban leadership.