The Taliban have manipulated polio vaccine campaigns. It's time for the global community to act.
As the global community marks World Polio Day, the world can’t overlook the Taliban’s manipulation of polio vaccine campaigns in Afghanistan.
Why this matters
Afghanistan is one of only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic (the other is Pakistan). And yet, over a month after the Taliban callously suspended door-to-door vaccination efforts in various provinces, little has been done to hold the regime to account for their exploitation of health services.
The Taliban claimed the ban was temporary and due to “security fears” and concerns over the participation of women in vaccination efforts (yet another example of the regime’s appalling implementation of gender apartheid). They’ve also used World Polio Day to propogate misinformation claiming there have been no new cases of polio in Afghanistan this year.
Highly contagious, polio induced paralysis is permanent and a cure for the disease has yet to be found. This is why access to accurate information, hygiene resources, and vaccines for children everywhere remains imperative.
Thanks to innovation, global collaboration, and the generosity of taxpayers, corporations, nonprofits, and philanthropists, there has been a 99.9 percent reduction in cases worldwide. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the final hurdles. And it makes the Taliban’s actions even more unconscionable. But it also shouldn’t be viewed as unexpected.
For three years and counting, the regime has held the rights and well-being of Afghan citizens hostage. And it is Afghanistan’s women and children who have endured the majority fall out.
While the Taliban continue to boast about tax and customs revenue and increasing engagement with Russia, China, and others, Afghanistan’s health system teeters on the edge of collapse.
Clinics and hospitals have shuttered. Healthcare workers have not been paid. At least 167 children a day are dying of preventable and treatable illnesses. Food insecurity and malnutrition remain widespread and access to even basic treatment for most Afghans is non-existent as the Taliban prioritize self-interests – like intelligence and the expansion of the madrassa system (including jihadi madrassas) – over the most basic needs of the population. For example, a recent BBC report revealed that in Jalalabad alone, four out of five children in need of hospital level treatment cannot access care.
At the same time, the Taliban continue to cruelly steal humanitarian aid and access high quality medical treatment abroad. Taliban members who are sanctioned have regularly traveled to countries like Turkey for access to care and many current Taliban officials aren’t subject to international sanctions (like the Taliban Minister of Public Health and many of his deputies).
Bottom line
Amid an expanding list of human rights abuses, the manipulation of public health efforts stand as another haunting reminder of the regime’s brutal assault on the people of Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the global community’s statements of solidarity with the Afghan people have rarely been backed with action. This must change and soon. Tools for accountability exist (like enforcing and expanding targeted sanctions) but leadership in using them is long overdue.
For the women and children of Afghanistan especially, its time the global community acts.
