Poliovirus circulation in Afghanistan a threat to world, says top UNICEF official

PESHAWAR: The chief of immunisation for UNICEF in Afghanistan, Mohammed Mohammedi, has expressed concern that the poliovirus circulation in the country will continue to pose a serious threat not only to Afghan children, but to the rest of the world as well.

The increase in the number of polio cases, particularly in the southern provinces, necessitates a more integrated approach to service delivery and a greater participation by the Taliban in the policy-making process and implementation of the vaccination programme.

Africa was declared free of wild poliovirus in August 2020. The virus remains endemic in just two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan were halted in March 2020 for several months as the country went into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccination resumed in August 2020.

Afghanistan reported 56 polio cases of WPV1 in 2020 compared to 29 in 2019 and 21 in 2018. In 2019 and 2020, 70 percent of all the polio cases were reported from the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan.

At epidemiologic week 47 of 2020, Helmand reported 16 polio cases, Kandahar 14 and Uruzgan four. This represents 60 percent of the total cases reported in the war-torn country.

Talking to The News from Kabul on phone, Mohammedi mentioned a number of reasons for the continued circulation of the wild poliovirus in Afghanistan. In his view, the demands and requests of the communities have been neglected for too long contributing to the delay in polio eradication efforts. He noted that corruption, poor management of the polio programme and interference in the selection of programme staff have also stood in the way of eradicating the crippling disease once and for all.