Child getting polio drops (file photo)
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
December 19, 2022
Afghan officials have launched a nationwide campaign to vaccinate millions of children against polio, an effort that in the past has faced resistance and even violence. The campaign is the first since the Taliban seized power last year. Previously, the Taliban had banned door-to-door vaccinations in areas they controlled. But the United Nations negotiated with the government to launch the new effort, which the health ministry said on December 19 aims to vaccinate 7 million children. Vaccination campaigns have encountered difficulties in the past due to lingering conspiracy theories that the vaccination causes infertility or that health workers were spies.