IRIN
AFGHANISTAN: Vaccinating 2 million children against polio
3 May 2006


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

KABUL, 3 May (IRIN) - More than 2 million children under the age of five 
will be vaccinated against the crippling polio virus next week in 
southern, southeastern and eastern Afghanistan, the United Nations 
Children's Fund (UNICEF) said this week in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The three-day campaign, which begins on 7 May, follows reports of a 
sixth polio case this year in the southern province of Kandahar, the 
health ministry has said.

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) supported by UNICEF and the 
World Health Organization (WHO), are spearheading the campaign.

More than 15,000 health workers are due to travel house-to-house in 11 
provinces - Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Zabul, Urozgan, Ghazni, Paktia, 
Paktika, Khost, Nangarhar, and Kunar, UNICEF said in its statement.

UNICEF's representative in Afghanistan, Bernt Aasen, urged families in 
the 11 provinces to make their children available to receive the vaccine 
next week.

"Polio immunisation is an essential way of safeguarding children's 
health, and preventing this crippling disease from affecting their 
lives," he said.

"But unless we eradicate polio in Afghanistan, the virus will continue 
to threaten development, disabling children, placing greater strain on 
families, and adding to the pressure on national health resources," 
Aasen noted.

Commenting on the recent cases of polio identified in Kandahar in April, 
Aasen said: "The new cases we have seen may be a result of improved 
monitoring and surveillance put in place by health authorities."

The systematic immunisation of children against a range of diseases such 
as polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough and tuberculosis is 
essential to long-term improvements in child health. UNICEF estimates 
that more than 600 children under the age of five die every day from 
mostly preventable diseases.

Afghanistan is one of just four countries in the world still affected by 
polio. The others are: Pakistan, India, and Nigeria. Two months ago, 
Egypt was declared polio-free after sustained successful immunisation 
efforts, UNICEF said.

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. 
It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter 
of hours. It can strike at any age, but affects mainly children under 
three (over 50 percent of all cases). The virus enters the body through 
the mouth and multiplies in the intestine.


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