Taliban agree to new polio vaccination across Afghanistan
ABC News
WHO and UNICEF say Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have agreed to a nationwide polio vaccination campaign for the first time in three years
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- U.N. agencies are gearing up to vaccinate all of Afghanistan’s children under 5 against polio for the first time since 2018, after the Taliban agreed to the campaign, the World Health Organization says.
For the past three years, the Taliban barred U.N.-organized vaccination teams from doing door-to-door campaigns in parts of Afghanistan under their control, apparently out of suspicion they could be spies for the government or the West. Because of the ban and ongoing fighting, some 3.3 million children over the past three years have not been vaccinated.
The Taliban’s reported agreement now, after becoming the rulers of Afghanistan, appeared aimed at showing they are willing to cooperate with international agencies. The longtime militant insurgent force has been trying to win the world’s recognition of its new government and re-open the door for international aid to rescue the crumbling economy.
The Taliban leadership did not confirm its agreement, and Taliban officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
