UN To Begin Door-To-Door Polio Vaccination Drive In Afghanistan From November 8

The United Nations will commence the door-to-door polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan from Monday, reported TOLONews. The vaccination drive will begin as the Taliban agreed to the resumption of house-to-house polio vaccination across Afghanistan.

The vaccination campaign that will begin on November 8, will be the first in over three years to reach all children in Afghanistan, including more than 3.3 million children in some parts of the country who have previously remained inaccessible to vaccination campaigns. A second nationwide polio vaccination campaign has also been agreed upon and will be synchronised with Pakistan's own polio campaign planned in December, confirmed the United Nations.

"This is an extremely important step in the right direction," said Dapeng Luo, WHO Representative in Afghanistan. "We know that multiple doses of oral polio vaccine offer the best protection, so we are pleased to see that there is another campaign planned before the end of this year. Sustained access to all children is essential to end polio for good. This must remain a top priority," said Luo.

The UN agencies noted that only one case of wild poliovirus had been reported in Afghanistan since the start of the year, providing "an extraordinary opportunity to eradicate polio".

"The urgency with which the Taliban leadership wants the polio campaign to proceed demonstrates a joint commitment to maintain the health system and restart essential immunizations to avert further outbreaks of preventable diseases," said Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

He also further said that this vaccination drive is not only a win for Afghanistan but also a win for the region as it opens a real path to achieve wild poliovirus eradication