The young man who sees children's health as his responsibility

Zahidullah Atif, 25, is one of the volunteers in Kunar's polio vaccination campaign. Vaccinating children is only part of his work. He also talks with families, listens to their concerns and works to build trust. For him, every vaccinated child is a step toward a safer future.

Kunar, Afghanistan - At the start of the day, when Zahidullah Atif collects the supplies he needs from a local clinic to administer the polio vaccine, he knows his work goes beyond vaccinating children.
He will talk with families, listen to their questions, address their concerns and do his best to ensure that every child receives the polio vaccine.
Zahidullah, 25, is the son of Jandarkhan and a resident of Khas Kunar district. He works as a volunteer in polio vaccination campaigns. Since graduating from the Faculty of Science at Ghazni University, he has devoted his professional life to serving his community, driven by a sense of service.

That sense of service is the main motivation behind his work to help prevent polio.

"I saw that polio is a dangerous disease that can cause permanent disability, but timely vaccination can prevent it. That is what motivated me to play a part in protecting the children of my community."

The need for trust before vaccination

Zahidullah says the most important part of his work in the field is not just vaccinating children. He wants families to understand why the polio vaccine matters and why no child should be left unvaccinated.

According to him, some families believe that a child who has been vaccinated once does not need to be vaccinated again. He tries to explain in simple terms why repeated doses during polio vaccination campaigns are important for strengthening a child's protection.

At times, though, information alone is not enough to convince a family. It takes trust.

“When a family refuses to vaccinate their children, I first try to understand why. I listen to what they have to say, and then I give them simple, clear information about the vaccine.”

He says misinformation and rumors sometimes make families concerned about the vaccine. In such situations, he tries to avoid confrontation and hears people out first.

If a family remains unconvinced, trusted local elders and religious scholars are asked to help.

In Zahidullah's experience, respect, patience and listening to people are important ways to build trust.

 Polio Free Afghanistan | 2026

Zahidullah Atif administers the fractional inactivated polio vaccine (fIPV) to a young girl in Kunar.

A story that convinced a family

One day, Zahidullah met a family that had concerns about vaccinating their child. He listened patiently to what they had to say and gave them information about the vaccine, but they were still not reassured.

Zahidullah then shared the experience of his colleague, Jawadullah, with them. Jawadullah has worked in vaccination for 10 years. He had waited seven years for his first child to be born. When his son, Mohammad, was born, Jawadullah did not let him miss a single round of polio vaccination.

Zahidullah put it to the family this way: if Jawadullah had not trusted the vaccine, he would not have vaccinated his first son on schedule after waiting seven years for him.

Jawadullah's personal experience earned the family's trust. In the end, they had their children vaccinated.

For Zahidullah, it was an important lesson: sometimes information alone is not enough. The personal experience of someone people trust can also ease their concerns and help them make a decision.

The meaning of service for a young man

Zahidullah vaccinates dozens of children every day during a polio vaccination campaign. When he was administering the oral polio vaccine (OPV), he vaccinated around 80 children a day. Now that he is administering the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), he vaccinates between 40 and 45 children each day.

At the end of the day, he also logs a report on the work completed.

But for him, the value of the work does not lie in numbers alone.

He says that when a family cooperates and a child's vaccination is complete, he feels happy because he knows he has played a part in protecting a child's health.

Meeting people with all kinds of questions and concerns has also taught him the importance of patience, a gentle approach and building trust.

His family also supports his work and is glad that he is working for the health of children in his community.

 Polio Free Afghanistan | 2026

A young girl’s pinky finger is marked after receiving the polio vaccine.

A family behind each child

Zahidullah knows that polio cannot be eradicated through the efforts of vaccination teams alone. Vaccination campaigns are most effective when families also play their part.

That is why he encourages parents to discuss their questions about their children's vaccination with trusted health workers and to rely on credible information rather than rumors and misinformation.

He hopes for a day when no child will face permanent disability because of polio.

"My hope is that all children will have a healthy and safe future. If Afghanistan becomes polio-free, it will be a great achievement for all of us."

For Zahidullah, the fight against polio is not limited to two drops of vaccine. It is an effort to protect a child today and to secure that child's safe future.

Going from village to village and home to home every day, he is not just delivering the vaccine to children but strengthening families' trust in vaccination.

He believes these small steps can lead to a much bigger change, one that will someday bring Afghanistan to a point where no child faces permanent disability because of polio.