Ghulam Naqshband Yazdani has dedicated half of his life in the fight against polio
Abdul Saboor Sirat
Faryab, Afghanistan – Ghulam Naqshband Yazdani, a 60-year-old resident of Maimana city, located in the heart of Faryab Province, has dedicated the past 31 years of his life to the eradication of polio through safeguarding polio vaccines. Yazdani, a high school graduate and father of six, has committed himself to serving as a Polio Vaccination Protection Officer (Cold Chain) in this province for three decades, and has spent half of his life in this job.
Ghulam Naqshband Yazdani has been serving as a Polio Vaccination Protection Officer (Coldchain) in Faryab Province for three decades, dedicating half of his life to this job. © Polio Free Afghanistan/2024/Abdul Saboor Sirat
As per his statement, Yazdani stores the vaccines in a room maintained at -25 degrees Celsius to ensure the vaccine’s effectiveness and prevent any loss of quality.
Yazdani considers two drops of the polio vaccine crucial for saving children under the age of five from polio and urges mothers to vaccinate their children.
He stated, “I urge all mothers to vaccinate their children and protect them from polio. Our centers always have vaccines available, and we are ready to serve 24 hours a day with our male and female volunteers. It’s crucial that mothers ensure their children are vaccinated on time to prevent them from contracting this disease.”
The anti-polio vaccines are kept in a room maintained at -25 degrees Celsius to ensure the vaccine’s effectiveness and prevent any loss of quality. © Polio Free Afghanistan/2024/Abdul Saboor Sirat
He expressed his joy over the recent increase in awareness among the people. More residents of Faryab are now willingly vaccinating their children, protecting them from the dangerous disease of polio.
He emphasizes that there is no cure for polio, and prevention through vaccination is the only solution.
Concurrently, Dr. Feroze Fayyaz, the head of immunization of Faryab Public Health Department, commends Ghulam Naqshband’s efforts in combating polio.
He says, “Ghulam Naqshband has dedicated over thirty years to the safeguarding of polio vaccines and other immunizations. He manages the operation of 11 large refrigerators and prepares essential equipment for volunteers during each campaign. His priority is to deliver the vaccines to remote areas first, ensuring that no child is left without immunization.”
In Faryab Province, Ghulam Naqshband, along with the public health department, ensures the proper storage of polio vaccines in refrigeration © Polio Free Afghanistan/2024/Abdul Saboor Sirat
According to him, Ghulam Naqshband is the most experienced, humble, and talented individual in this Province, single-handedly performing all these tasks.
The officials from the Public Health Department of Faryab Province report that their health teams are delivering the polio vaccine to all parts of the province.
Dr. Fazal Hadi Farooqi, Faryab Province’s director of public health, states that approximately 600,000 children are vaccinated in every polio vaccination campaign.
