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Gov’t Launches Polio Drive in Former Daesh Areas

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(Last Updated On: October 24, 2022)

????????????????????????????Afghanistan launched a polio vaccination campaign on Monday aimed at reaching children in areas previously controlled by Islamic State group militants, officials said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic — a fact blamed on opposition to immunization by Islamist groups, who claim the vaccines are a conspiracy to sterilize Muslims or a cover for spying.

The latest five-day drive will look to reach about 9.5 million children nationwide, the health ministry’s Sardar Parwiz told AFP, with officials hoping to take advantage of reduced fighting in the east following successes from US-backed military operations.

“We have already started contacting locals in areas retaken from Daesh (IS). We will send our teams to those areas, but if they face any problems, we will ask locals to transport their children to our clinics in safer areas,” he said.

Fighters pledging allegiance to the IS group had been in control of several districts in eastern Nangarhar province on the border with Pakistan, before they were pushed out by Afghan and NATO forces.

Last month, Afghan troops backed by US airstrikes seized large parts of the mountainous district of Kot in Nangarhar, a key IS stronghold where the jihadists set up Sharia courts and training camps displaying their trademark black flag.

Najibullah Kamawal, the head of the health department in Nangarhar said some districts had been unreachable for over a year, leaving thousands of children without medical assistance.

“It is a challenge, it is risky, but we are determined to go to every village and vaccinate the kids,” he said.

Noorul Habib a teacher in Kot district told AFP by phone the elders and the local population were determined to support the campaign.

“We know polio is dangerous, we will do our best to support this campaign. All the elders have sent messages to militants not to disrupt the campaign. We have also told them not to destroy mosques, clinics and schools,” he said.

Afghanistan registered eight polio cases, mostly in the eastern part of the country in the first half of the year, according to ministry of health. Most of them believed to have been imported from Pakistan.

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Iranian official: Only vulnerable points of Afghanistan’s border will be walled and fenced

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(Last Updated On: May 6, 2024)

An Iranian security official has said that the entire border of Iran with Afghanistan will not be fenced, rather barriers will be created only at vulnerable points.

Iranian army has announced that the plan to create barriers at the border with a four-meter concrete wall, barbed wire and fence will be implemented within three years.

“In some northwestern and eastern borders, there are threats from the other side of the borders that we are countering,” said Qassem Rezaei, Iran’s deputy police commander.

He added that drug trafficking, human trafficking, and even terrorist infiltration may take place through these borders.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior of Iran Ahmad Vahidi has announced that over 1.3 million illegal foreign nationals have returned to their country in the past year.

He added that illegal citizens should leave Iran as they are not allowed to stay.

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Hanafi meets WHO regional director, stresses need for cooperation

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(Last Updated On: May 6, 2024)

Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi on Sunday met with WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Hanan Balkhy, and called for the organization’s cooperation including in the establishment of clinics in remote areas and training of specialists.

According to a statement released by his office, Hanafi pointed out that since the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan regained power, there has been progress in various fields, including the fight against drug production and trafficking, the roundup and treatment of drug addicts, the eradication of corruption and nationwide security.

He asked the WHO to hand over Afghanistan’s seat to the representative of the Islamic Emirate and restore Afghanistan’s membership in meetings of the executive board and leadership meetings of the Mediterranean region.

Hanafi also called for the cooperation of international organizations in providing alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers and in providing assistance to flood victims.

While stressing that the eradication of polio is one of the priorities of the Islamic Emirate, Hanafi asked the WHO to activate polio diagnosis laboratories and supply vaccines, establish a cancer treatment center, prevent malnutrition among children and provide safe drinking water.

According to the statement, WHO official Balkhy said in the meeting that the health issue is non-political and one of the priorities of the organization.

She pointed to the achievements of the Islamic Emirate in various fields and expressed hope that better conditions will be provided for Afghans in the health and education sector.

Balkhy explained that WHO, together with other international organizations and the European Union, has a three-year project that includes the establishment of health centers in different provinces of Afghanistan.

She also expressed her appreciation for the efforts of the Islamic Emirate in the fight against polio and added that she will discuss the issue of providing alternative livelihoods for Afghan farmers with the WHO and other relevant organizations.

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OIC summit urges IEA to respect girls’ right to education

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(Last Updated On: May 6, 2024)

The 15th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Gambia on Sunday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to respect Afghan girls and women’s right to education and work.

In a declaration, OIC described the right to education and work as the fundamental rights of Afghan girls and women, and called for more communication with the IEA authorities on these issues.

Additionally, the participants emphasized the need for more efforts to address the challenges related to ethnic groups, drugs, terrorism, and social issues to ensure inclusive governance and sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“We also emphasize the need to make more efforts to address the challenges associated with ethnic groups, terrorism, drugs and social aspects for inclusive governance to achieve sustainable stability,” the declaration said.

Delegations from the 57 OIC member states attended the conference, organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation under the theme “Enhancing unity and solidarity through dialogue for sustainable development.”.

The summit was also attended by an IEA delegation.

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