Measles Outbreak Kills 142 Children in Afghanistan

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
March 14, 2022

ISLAMABAD — A week-long measles vaccination campaign is underway in Afghanistan where the World Health Organization (WHO) says the extremely contagious viral disease has killed 142 children and infected 18,000 since the start of the year.

“This measles immunization campaign is part of the national response measure to stop the spread of the outbreak, save lives of the young children and reduce the burden on health systems,” a WHO statement quoted its representative in Afghanistan, Luo Dapeng, as saying on Monday.

The WHO-funded campaign, kicked off Saturday, is supporting the de facto Taliban health authorities in the management of the vaccination.

Thousands of health workers have been tasked to inoculate more than 1.2 million children under five against the disease across 49 Afghan districts in 24 provinces.

Afghanistan has experienced measles resurgence since January 2021. Authorities have since reported 48,366 infections and 250 deaths from the viral disease.

The low routine measles immunization coverage of 66% and longer interval since the measles follow-up campaign in 2018 have resulted in the accumulation of the high number of children under five years old with no measles immunization, said WHO.

Dapeng appealed to parents to bring their children in for vaccination against the life-threatening but preventable disease, urging everyone in the war-ravaged country to ensure the safety of Afghan health workers.

Last month, eight polio vaccinators, including four women, were shot dead during a door-to-door vaccination campaign against the crippling disease in two northern Afghan provinces.

“The rise in measles cases in Afghanistan is especially concerning because of the extremely high levels of malnutrition,” Dapeng said.

The health emergency comes as officials at the United Nations say decades of conflict, a devastating drought, a collapsing economy and the impact of international sanctions on Taliban rulers are causing “irreparable damage” to Afghan children.

The U.N. estimates that around 23 million people, more than half of Afghanistan’s population, need humanitarian assistance. It says one in three people faces acute hunger and two million children are malnourished.

Turkish FM ‘advises’ IEA officials on what’s needed to gain int’l recognition

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Ariana: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday he advised Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials on what steps need to be taken for the Afghan government to gain international recognition. He stated that Turkey is not in a rush to recognize the new government in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

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Afghan embassy in DC to close

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Ariana: The Afghan embassy in Washington, which is under severe financial pressure and cut off from the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government in Kabul, will close down in the coming week, a senior State Department official confirmed Saturday.Its diplomats, holdovers from the old government, now have a month to apply for US visas before being deported – though not back to Afghanistan, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, AFP reported. Click here to read more (external link).

Balkh University Title Change from Dari to Pashto Language Turns to a Matter of Concern and Public Reactions

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8am: Legally and traditionally, public administrations and institutions’ signboards were labeled in three languages (Dari, Pashto, and English), but recently, the Taliban have taken the initiative of removing and replacing Dari language from the signboards and official communications within the government offices and departments. This is not only against the law but has raised public concerns and reactions. Click here to read more (external link).

China Pursues Afghanistan’s Mineral Wealth After U.S. Exit

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WSJ: Following the American exit from Afghanistan, China’s move to claim the country’s vast mineral wealth is centered on a mountain south of Kabul. The mountain and the barren surrounding valley, in Logar province, a two-hour drive from the capital, contain one of the world’s biggest untapped reserves of copper. Click here to read more (external link).

Families Claim Five Men Detained, Fate Unknown

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Taliban fighters (file photo)

Tolo News: A family in Paghman district said that four family members along with two guests were detained after a house raid by the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] 11 days ago. According to the family, Zabiullah, a cousin, was also detained in the same raid.  “I don’t have flour at home to make bread. They ask us now for the weapons. From where can I bring weapons?” said Bibi Amina, the mother of the five brothers who were detained by the Islamic Emirate.  Click here to read more (external link).

Bachelet: Future of Afghanistan Uncertain

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Lisa Schlein
VOA News
March 13, 2022

GENEVA — U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warns humanitarian and economic issues are likely to claim more lives in Afghanistan than conflict.

Bachelet recently made a one-day trip to the Afghan capital, Kabul, where she conveyed this message to the Taliban rulers. While there, she stressed the importance of respecting the human rights of all people. Bachelet said this was key to finding a pathway out of the country’s economic, humanitarian, and human rights crisis.

The high commissioner’s spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, tells VOA Bachelet emphasized the importance of inclusivity in navigating the way out of the multiple crises facing Afghanistan. Throssell says the high commissioner told the Taliban authorities the societies that are more sustainable and peaceful are those that consider their people as part of the solution, rather than as antagonists to be suppressed.

“The high commissioner stressed that it is crucial to urgently address what has really and rightly been described as the catastrophic effects of the economic sanctions and asset freezes… Even though there has been a decline in hostilities, the multiple humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan may, in fact claim far more lives than actual conflict,” she said.

The United Nations reports 22 million people, more than half of Afghanistan’s population, need humanitarian assistance. It says one in three people faces acute hunger, two million children are malnourished, and more than three-and-a-half million people are internally displaced. Aid agencies report women and girls are particularly vulnerable and face protection risks.

Throssell says the high commissioner met a range of people who were able to voice their concerns. She says Bachelet met women who spoke about their struggles against injustice in the country. They expressed their need to regain the rights they had achieved over the past two decades before the Taliban retook the country last August.

“They needed their rights to freedom of expression, of peaceful assembly, to be free from the fear of reprisals, to be able to engage in politics, to be able to train as health care workers, and of course to be able to have an education,” said Throssell.

The new Taliban rulers say they hope to be able to open all schools for girls later this month. When the group was last in power in the late 1990s, girls were banned from attending schools and women from leaving home unless accompanied by a close male relative.

At the end of her visit, the high commissioner urged the international community to ease sanctions and unfreeze assets. She said this crucially would help to jump start the Afghan economy and relieve the suffering of millions of people.