KABUL (SW) – Officials from the Ministry of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate have announced the launch of a supplementary polio vaccination campaign in 10 provinces of Afghanistan.
The campaign will continue until Thursday.
Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, told Salaam Watandar that the campaign is being conducted in Kabul, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Nuristan, Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Urozgan, and Kunduz.
According to the him, 5.3 million children under five years old will receive the polio vaccine during this round. The campaign will be extended to Herat in five days.
Amarkhil added: “The Ministry of Public Health urges families, religious scholars, and community elders to cooperate with the ministry’s vaccinators in implementing the polio vaccination campaign for children under five to prevent the spread of the disease.”
However, some doctors and vaccinators have expressed concern about the limitations placed on house-to-house polio vaccination efforts. They worry that the current approach might result in some children missing out on the vaccine.
Fatima Rezaie, a vaccinator in Kabul, said, “Currently, the Islamic Emirate has restricted going to doors, and women are not allowed to go to doors to vaccinate children. We ask families to cooperate with us. For example, we have vaccination sites, and if families cooperate and vaccinate their children, this will be a successful campaign. But if families do not cooperate, and we vaccinate two or three children per day, many children will miss out, and the process will not work smoothly.”
Gul Mohammad Din Mohammadi, a doctor at the Maiwand Teaching Hospital, also commented, “Currently, house-to-house polio vaccination is halted, and vaccines are being administered at mosques. However, some children may miss out, especially since many families do not have a guardian available to take their children to the mosque for vaccination.”
Despite these concerns, officials from the Ministry of Public Health have stated that public awareness will be raised through mosque loudspeakers, announcers, and advertisements to inform citizens about the vaccination schedule.
Meanwhile, some families are urging citizens to ensure their children receive the polio vaccine.
“Yes, polio vaccination is effective for our children, and this disease must be eradicated from our community. Our request from the government is not to prevent house-to-house polio vaccination for the health of our children,” Ferishta, a mother who brought her child to a vaccination site in Kabul, told Salaam Watandar.
Rohid, a resident of Nangarhar, who vaccinated three of his children, told Salaam Watandar, “I vaccinated my children today and encourage other families to do the same. We vaccinate our children every time.”
According to the Ministry of Public Health, this is the fifth round of the supplementary polio vaccination campaign implemented in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year.
