KABUL (SW) – The acting health minister of the Islamic Emirate Qalandar Ebad called for international assistance to support polio eradication efforts and strengthen Afghanistan’s healthcare system.
A four-day conference on combating polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan was held in Doha, Qatar, hosted by Qatar. Qalandar Ebad, the acting health minister, participated in this conference focused on polio eradication in the two countries.
He highlighted improvements in access to polio vaccination campaigns across Afghanistan, adding that there are no longer any inaccessible areas for administering the polio vaccine in the country, according to Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, spokesperson for the ministry of public health.
“Access to polio vaccination campaigns has improved, and there are currently no geographical areas in the country that are inaccessible. Over 70,000 frontline workers, including women, are part of the polio eradication program in Afghanistan,” Amarkhil said.
Representatives from the National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Rotary International attended the conference.
Last year, six positive polio cases were recorded in Nangarhar province. In response, the Ministry of Public Health launched nine nationwide polio vaccination campaigns to reduce the incidence of the disease.
Additionally, the WHO recently warned that the forced expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan increases the risk of polio spread in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries where polio has not been completely eradicated.
