Taliban suspended polio vaccine campaign in Afghanistan: UN

Associated Press Dubai: The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN said on Monday. It's 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, paralysing disease has never been stopped. The other is Pakistan. It's 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 UN agencies right before the September immunisation 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 Organisation said it was aware of discussions to move away from house-to-house vaccinations and instead have immunisations 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's 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-tosite 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 neighbouring Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, falsely claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilise children.

As recently as August, the WHO reported that Afghanistan and Pakistan were continuing to implement an “intensive and synchronised campaign” focusing on improved vaccination coverage in endemic zones and an effective response to detections elsewhere. During a June 2024 nationwide campaign, Afghanistan used a house-tohouse vaccination strategy for the first time in five years, a tactic that helped to reach the majority of children targeted. But southern Kandahar, the base of Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, used site-to-site or mosque-to-mosque vaccination campaigns, which are less effective.