Iran, Taliban weigh steps to control polio in Afghanistan: Envoy

Iran has offered to assist the caretaker government of Afghanistan in eradicating polio in the neighboring country and provide it with health and medical support, an envoy said.

According to Tasnim news agency, in a post on his Twitter account, the Iranian President's Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, said he has held a meeting with acting Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan Qalandar Ibad in Tehran on Monday.

“Constructive talks were held about controlling polio in Afghanistan, as well as training and bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the scientific and health fields,” the Iranian special envoy noted.

Heading a delegation, Qalandar Ibad has held talks with Iranian health officials during his visit to Tehran.

One year on from Afghanistan’s transition of power in August 2021, the polio eradication program in the country has made critical gains, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in August.

Wild poliovirus transmission in Afghanistan is currently at its lowest level in history. Fifty six children were paralyzed by wild poliovirus in 2020. In 2021, the number fell to four. This year to date, only one child has been paralyzed by the virus, giving the country an extraordinary opportunity to end polio.

The resumption of nationwide polio vaccination campaigns targeting 9.9 million children has been a critical step. Since 2018, local-level bans on polio vaccination activities in some districts controlled by the Taliban had significantly reduced the program’s ability to vaccinate every child across the country. With access to the entire country following the August transition, seven nationwide vaccination campaigns took place between November 2021 and June 2022, and a sub national campaign targeting 6.7 million children in 28 provinces took place in July. Of the 3.6 million children who had been inaccessible to the program since 2018, 2.6 million were reached during the November, December and January campaigns. With improving reach to previously inaccessible children during subsequent campaigns, the number of missed children has been reduced to 0.7 million. Additional campaigns are planned for the remainder of the year, the WHO said.

ME