Polio Eradication Activities under Health and Emergency Response Support

Provinces	Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daykundi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Hilmand, Hirat, Jawzjan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktya, Panjsher, Parwan, Samangan, Sari Pul, Takhar, Uruzgan, Wardak, Zabul
Program	Health (Increasing access of women and children to quality basic health services)
Dates	September 2003 - September 2009
Partner	United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
Website

In Afghanistan, routine immunization coverage is not sufficient to achieve and sustain polio eradication. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Polio Eradication Project is an ongoing project that utilizes UNICEF’s vaccine and immunization service delivery network to eradicate poliovirus in Afghanistan. With U.S. Government (USG) funds, UNICEF supports National Immunization Days and Sub-National Immunization Days as a joint effort with the Ministry of Public Health and World Health Organization. UNICEF supports the immunization service delivery operation, public information, social mobilization, and vaccine logistics, and provides other supplies.

In 2006, over seven million children were given Oral Polio Vaccine using a door-to-door vaccination strategy. In FY 07, the USG funded door-to-door immunization service delivery. Based on the district plan, volunteers were selected and trained and provided vaccines, supplies, and other resources. Teams went from house to house giving the vaccine to eligible children. The estimated impact will be polio case reduction and limitation of wild polio virus circulation. This program receives an annual allocation of funding from a USAID/Washington-funded program.

Currently, UNICEF is funded to support polio communication and social mobilization activities in high risk area in the south and east of Afghanistan, particularly in Hilmand and Kandahar provinces, where new cases of polio have been detected.  Activities will increase community acceptance of vaccination thereby leading to increased immunization coverage in every round.   High quality immunization campaigns that reach every child under age 5 with oral polio vaccine(s), as many times as needed, will stop virus transmission. UNICEF collaborates closely with the Ministry of Public Health Department of EPI at the central and provincial levels to implement the activities.

All Health activities