WHO says polio vaccine team to stay on in Afghanistan

Adapt, Stay, Deliver is the title of a statement issued by the World Health Organization on Wednesday that stated the organization was staying on in Afghanistan to combat polio.

The statement on the WHO’s website said despite risks and challenges, the organization’s 315 staff and more than 70,000 polio health workers across the country “remain firm in their resolve to eradicate polio.”

According to one WHO Polio Provincial Officer from Balkh province: “Poliovirus circulation does not stop during conflicts, it does not stop during emergencies. If anything, it makes children and families even more vulnerable by adding a layer of risk.”

In 2021, one wild poliovirus type 1 and 43 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 cases have been confirmed in Afghanistan, WHO said.

All cases have been reported in areas of the country that have for years been inaccessible for door-to-door vaccination campaigns, which left at least 3 million children repeatedly deprived of polio vaccination.

“We are working with all actors to ensure there are no delays or disruptions to polio vaccination campaigns and overall routine immunization. The gains of the past 20 years cannot be lost. Children need immunization now, they must not bear the brunt of conflict and instability. We are calling for unimpeded access to all children,” says Dr Dapeng Luo, WHO Representative in Afghanistan.