Taliban: No More Polio Vaccinations

The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN said Monday. It's a devastating setback for polio eradication, since the virus is one of the world's most infectious, and any unvaccinated groups of children where the virus is spreading could undo years of progress. Afghanistan is one of two countries in which the spread of the potentially fatal, paralyzing disease has never been stopped, reports the AP; the other is Pakistan. It's likely that the Taliban's decision will have major repercussions for other countries in the region and beyond.

News of the suspension was relayed to UN agencies right before the September immunization campaign was due to start. No reason was given. A top official from the World Health Organization said it was aware of discussions to move away from house-to-house vaccinations and instead have immunizations in places like mosques. The WHO has confirmed 18 polio cases in Afghanistan this year, all but two in the south of the country. That's up from six cases in 2023. During a June 2024 nationwide campaign, Afghanistan used a house-to-house vaccination strategy for the first time in five years, a tactic that helped to reach the majority of children targeted. But southern Kandahar province, the base of the Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, used site-to-site vaccination campaigns, which are less effective than going to people's homes.

The campaign suspension is the latest obstacle in what has become a problematic global effort to stop polio. The initiative, which costs about $1 billion every year, has missed multiple deadlines to wipe out the disease, and technical mistakes in the vaccination strategy set by WHO and partners have been costly. The oral vaccine has also inadvertently seeded outbreaks in dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and now accounts for the majority of polio cases worldwide. This was seen most recently in Gaza, where a baby was partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of polio first seen in the oral vaccine, marking the territory's first case in more than 25 years. (More polio stories.)