Pakistan imperils Afghanistan’s polio eradication push

By: Kate Adams

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<h1>Pakistan imperils Afghanistan’s polio eradication push</h1>
<h4>By: Kate Adams</h4>
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	Afghanistan is one of three countries in the world where <a href="https://www.scidev.net/health/disease/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">polio</a> is endemic. Mountainous terrain and <a href="https://www.scidev.net/governance/conflict/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">security issues</a> in Taliban-controlled areas present challenges to the success of the polio <a href="https://www.scidev.net/health/medicine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccination</a> programme.<br />
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	But the biggest threat comes from across the border in Pakistan, where there are poor vaccination coverage rates and current polio outbreaks.<br />
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	Afghanistan’s government is tackling the problem by deploying vaccination checkpoints at the Pakistani border.</div>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/multimedia/pakistan-imperils-afghanistan-s-polio-eradication-push/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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Afghanistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is endemic. Mountainous terrain and security issues in Taliban-controlled areas present challenges to the success of the polio vaccination programme.

But the biggest threat comes from across the border in Pakistan, where there are poor vaccination coverage rates and current polio outbreaks.

Afghanistan’s government is tackling the problem by deploying vaccination checkpoints at the Pakistani border.