A Taliban health chief says the resumption of a polio vaccination scheme in north Afghanistan does not alter lingering suspicion of the international communityJust over a fortnight ago,a 14-month-old girl in the Afghan province of Kunduz was diagnosed with polio. Within days, the Taliban granted health workers access to parts of northern Afghanistan for the first time in 15 months, or enabling them to resume a polio vaccination programme.
Until it was blocked,leaving approximately 170000 children in Kunduz province without inoculations, the scheme had nearly eradicated the disabling viral disease in Afghanistan. But polio can spread quickly, and with even a single case potentially enough to widen the disease’s footprint. When the girl in Kunduz’s Dasht-e-Archi district became the third child this year diagnosed with polio,Taliban commanders relented. Related: Pakistan and Afghanistan join forces to wipe out polio Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com