It has been confirmed that the Taliban government in Afghanistan is putting a stop to the polio vaccination programme.
Vaccinations were being delivered at clinics and mosques. A case was made by the team in Afghanistan for ‘house-to-house’ vaccinations. This, it was argued, would be an effective way of reaching every child in every community. The government agreed to this, and the change proved very successful many more children were reached.
But, the authorities in the south of the country refused to allow house-to-house vaccination. Teams were told to stick to the original arrangement of vaccinating at clinics and mosques.
The decision was then made to apply the same restriction across the whole country.
Following this change in policy, concerns were raised about the role of women in the vaccination programme. The Taliban government had raised the restriction on the participation of women in front-line vaccination teams. This was a very positive development as women are able to gain access to mothers and children denied to men. But this participation has been a contentious issue among some religious leaders.
In the wake of these policy changes, the entire vaccination programme has been ’suspended’.
The reasons given are - ’security concerns’ and ’the role of woman in the vaccination programme’.
Pakistan officials have expressed serious concerns about this - recent cases in Pakistan have been traced back to sources within Afghanistan - families and individuals regularly cross the border in both directions.
Bad news not just for Afghanistan but for the entire region. We can only hope that the suspension is temporary and that vaccinations resume in the very near future.