Ceasefire for polio immunisation in Afghanistan

Islamabad (Office of the United Nations Co-ordinator for Afghanistan), 13 April 2001 -- The warring factions in Afghanistan have agreed to respect a cease-fire during the second round of National Immunisation Days (NIDs) from 17 to 19 April 2001. The agreement came after UNICEF and WHO officially requested both sides to respect the cease-fire and inform frontline commanders to remain committed to the agreement.
In 2000, cease-fires, additional social mobilisation, and a house-to-house strategy meant that more children than ever before could benefit from the vaccination campaign. Over 5.4 million Afghan children under five years old were vaccinated against poliomyelitis last year. During this year's campaign, 5.7 million Afghan children will be vaccinated.

As many as 27,600 vaccinators and volunteers and about 6,000 supervisors and mobilisers will work in the campaign throughout Afghanistan. UNICEF sends over 6,680,000 doses of polio vaccine to Afghanistan for each round of NIDs.

UNICEF covers the human, operational, vaccine, and social mobilisation costs of NIDs in Afghanistan, which in this round will amount to $973,000. WHO covers the cost of training volunteers and vaccinators as well as some operational costs. Five rounds of NIDs are planned for 2001.

UNICEF and WHO have jointly developed social mobilisation materials, while UNICEF has worked with local radio stations to transmit NIDs messages in different parts of the country.

Special arrangements have been made to ensure that children of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan and children of the families who cross borders during NIDs can be vaccinated against polio.

Afghanistan is one of the countries where the wild poliovirus continues to threaten the lives of children. In 2000, 115 children were confirmed to have contracted polio.

For further information, please contact: Mr Baba Danbappa, Survival Officer UNICEF Afghanistan, Tel: 92-51-2213437, 2212948-51 or Dr. Naveed Sadozai, EPI Officer, WHO Afghanistan, Tel: 92-51-2211224, 2211692