Polio eradication in Afghanistan

This project supports the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) in their final push to eradicate the wild poliovirus (WPV) in Afghanistan one of only 2 remaining polio endemic countries (the other being Pakistan) by 2027. A significant number of Afghan children remain unvaccinated and this project aims to increase polio vaccine campaign activities for Afghan children under the age of 5. Project (WHO) activities include: (1) coordinating operations and conducting research analysis monitoring and evaluation; (2) providing technical and operational support for campaign administrators; (3) coordinating the training and deployment of human resources for supplementary technical assistance; and (4) securing logistics to access hard-to-reach areas. Project (UNICEF) activities include: (1) procuring the vaccines and cold chain equipment; (2) providing technical assistance for administrators responsible for the advocacy communication and social mobilization of the vaccination campaigns; and (3) monitoring the campaign and forecasting logistics. The 2 organizations coordinate to implement all aspects of the polio vaccination campaign.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) preventing wild poliovirus (WPV) and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) outbreaks; (2) reducing the number of missed or unvaccinated children; (3) raising awareness and increasing demand for vaccinations particularly among women husbands fathers and caregivers; (4) working with other partners to offer integrated gender-responsive water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) nutrition and routine immunization (RI) activities for higher coverage; (5) strengthening the capacity of frontline workers to reach caregivers with gender-responsive services; and (6) improving access to and use of maternal and newborn child health (MNCH) and immunization services for mothers newborns children under 5 and adolescent girls.