For children’s health: a father and two daughters serving together

Jahanzeb Insaf, 45, is a resident of Mohmand Dara district in Nangarhar. From a young age, he helped people through health awareness and vaccination. War and displacement interrupted that work for a time, but years later he returned to the same service. Now he travels from village to village with his two daughters, raising awareness among families about children's health and vaccination.

Nangarhar, Afghanistan - Jahanzeb Insaf was still in school when he started helping with public awareness work alongside his village's vaccination teams.

At the time, literacy levels in the area were low, and Jahanzeb was among the few people who could read and write. That was why he took part in raising awareness and helped get vaccines to children. But insecurity and war halted that work and, like many other Afghans, he was forced from his area into displacement.

Years later, when he returned home, he saw that people's needs had changed and that female social mobilizers were needed to deliver public health and vaccination messages to families.

A father and his daughters, serving together

Jahanzeb encouraged his two daughters to take part in vaccination and public health work as social mobilizers. Both had studied through twelfth grade and afterward began working with families to raise awareness about health issues.

As their mahram and escort, Jahanzeb accompanied them from village to village, a role he continues to this day.

Now father and daughters share one goal: to inform families about children's health and vaccination, and urge them to ensure no child is left unvaccinated.

"My daughters and I work together, and by God, we work from the heart. Every child looks to me like a child from my own family. We aren't after material perks. What we have in mind is the spiritual reward of helping our society become free of polio one day," Jahanzeb says.
Jahanzeb’s daughters talk to families about vaccination, children’s health, and hygiene, sharing essential information with them. They also encourage families to keep their children at home during polio campaign days so vaccination teams can reach them.
They try to reach around 160 to 165 families during the three days of a campaign. Over time, their ties with local families have grown stronger. Some families now wait till the next campaign to see them again.

 © Polio Free Afghanistan | 2026

Children's information is recorded during the polio vaccination campaign.

Public trust, a key part of vaccination

In Jahanzeb's experience, concerns among some families about vaccination remain a major challenge for campaigns.

He has seen families hide their children from vaccination teams, and others who question whether the vaccine is halal or haram.

Jahanzeb and his daughters try to speak gently with these families, listen to their concerns, and give them clear information about vaccination. When a family's concern is religious, they also ask local mullahs and imams for help so that the family's questions are answered with assurance and clarity.

Jahanzeb believes female mobilisers have a special role in this effort. They speak directly with the female members of the families and pave the way for the children's vaccination.

The day he stood by his daughter

Jahanzeb’s support for his daughters’ work is not limited to campaign days. One day, he learned that one of them was facing opposition from her family because of her work. She was committed to her role, but her husband and some other family members did not approve.

Jahanzeb spoke with his son-in-law and the other family members who opposed her work. He tried to make clear to them that a female mobilizer's work is not only his daughter's personal duty but an important need of the community, for the sake of children's health and a better future.

Jahanzeb told them that without female mobilizers, delivering health messages to families would become difficult, and some children might be left unvaccinated.

His words made an impact, and in the end his daughter returned to her work.

 © Polio Free Afghanistan | 2026

Teams prepare for polio vaccination campaign activities.

"My daughters' service is my pride"

Jahanzeb says his daughters' service has also affected his life in the community. People now look at him with respect and praise his family's service. He believes this respect is not only because of his own work, but also because of the service his daughters provide.

The most important moment for him is seeing the results of his daughters' work with his own eyes. When a family accepts what they say and no child is left unvaccinated, Jahanzeb considers it a shared achievement of the family.

He knows that many families in the area cannot afford the costs of treatment when illness occurs. That is why he places special value on preventing diseases.

A hope that lives on

Jahanzeb wants to see Afghanistan free of polio one day. He regards this goal not as the result of one family's or one team's work, but as the outcome of people working together.

He believes protecting children's health is a shared responsibility, and that everyone can contribute according to their ability.

Now that his two daughters stand alongside him in awareness work, Jahanzeb sees a part of his years of effort in their hands. He believes that one family's trust, one child's vaccination, and the impact of every small effort together pave the way toward building a healthy society.