Although dropping, the Wild Poliovirus Case count in August 2018 had reached at the count of 2. For the whole of this year, the total WPV case count till August stood at 9, as per the UNICEF and WHO data on WPV. In terms of overall polio count for 2018 till November, the count stands at 19.
The districts from which these cases occurred were Ghaziabad and Chakwi in Kunar, Kama and Pachir-Wa-Agam in Nangarhar, Shahwalikot, Slin Boldak and Arghandab in Kandahar, and Nad-e-Ali in Helmand.
Routine immunisation programme is vociferously carried out and so is the surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis.
Some supplementary immunisation activities have also been conducted to maintain high levels of population immunity.
As per WHO, Afghanistan is a polio endemic country and despite progress in eradication and control of the disease, there is a long way to go. WHO believes that insecurity and instability play a huge role in “impeding safe access to children for vaccination”.
Babies who get regular polio vaccination until 5 years of age can easily defeat the dangers of the disease. Fortunately, political commitment from within and international aid has been maintained well to fight polio.
