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July 26, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Aid Workers Say Suspicion of Westerners Hampering Vaccination Program in Afghanistan" Associated Press (www.ap.org) (07/26/02); Dodds, Paisley

United Nations workers charged with the task of eradicating polio from Afghanistan have been confronted with a new challenge: convincing remote villagers that the immunization program is not really a massive sterilization project plotted by Westerners. Haji Abdul Nadir, a Kandahar businessman, said that he believes the polio vaccine weakens the human reproductive system, and that many people there believe that Westerners are using it as a means to halt the Muslim generation.  Afghanistan's deserts, mountains, and landmine-filled roads have hampered aid workers' efforts to reach isolated settlements for immunization programs; however, distrust has added to the problem, and some aid workers note that suspicion of Westerners has grown following botched U.S. military operations.

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