Afghan Polio Immunization a Success

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 12:02 p.m. ET

GENEVA (AP) -- A three-day drive to immunize more than 5 million Afghan children against polio went smoothly, despite the U.S.-led bombing campaign, U.N. aid agencies said Friday.

Volunteers also distributed vitamin A, vital to building up resistance to measles, diarrhea and respiratory infections, said UNICEF spokeswoman Wivina Belmonte.

The Taliban announced earlier this week that it would go ahead with the polio vaccination campaign, held three times a year, by mobilizing 32,000 people to help.

It urged WHO and UNICEF to ask the U.S. government to halt its military action to allow so-called ``days of tranquility,'' which have been used successfully in the past in conflict zones.

The U.N. agencies declined the Taliban request, saying they respected U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeal for an end to the bombing as soon as possible.

Field workers inside Afghanistan reported very little disruption during the Nov. 6-8 immunization campaign, UNICEF said. The immunization campaign was carried out solely by Afghan volunteers.

``There have been no reports of problems or injuries,'' said Bruce Aylward, head of the World Health Organization's polio eradication campaign.

In the past, the Taliban and the northern opposition alliance regularly cooperated with the United Nations and aid groups for anti-polio campaigns, agreeing to cease fire to facilitate vaccinations.

Afghanistan is one of a few countries where polio persists, but it has made dramatic progress in tackling the crippling disease. According to WHO figures, nine cases were reported this year, all in the Kandahar region. A further 69 cases were found in neighboring Pakistan, which conducted a parallel immunization campaign of 30 million children.

The two countries combined account for nearly one-fifth of the global polio total of 442 so far this year.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.