The active role of female vaccinators in Faryab’s polio vaccination campaigns
Abdul Saboor Sirat
Balkh, Afghanistan – Ghuncha Jurazada and Yasmin Mohammadi are among the hundreds of female vaccinators who traverse the streets of Maymana city in Faryab province. They go from door to door, requesting family elders to bring their children outside for two drops of the polio vaccine.
The mentioned vaccinators work tirelessly toward the goal of protecting children from polio.
Ghuncha Jurazada and Yasmin Mohammadi traverse the streets of Maimana City in Faryab province, they go from door to door, requesting family elders to bring their children outside for two drops of the polio vaccine © Polio free Afghanistan/2024/ Abdul Saboor Sirat
Ghuncha Jurazada, wearing a black hijab and grey headscarf, carries a vaccine carrier box on her shoulder as she goes from street to street, immunizing every last child.
She stated that her goal is to leave no child deprived of vaccination in her designated areas of responsibility.
She, who has been working with the polio program for 6 years, expresses that she is delighted by the increase in public awareness about the polio vaccine.
She said, “I work with the Polio Eradication Program in Maimana City. Previously, many families here refused to administer the polio vaccine to their children. However, thanks to our continuous efforts, along with the efforts of the program’s coordinators, supervisors, and doctors, they have now agreed to immunize their children against polio.”
Ghancha Jurhzadeh gives vaccination to a child with the help of her colleague Yasmin Mohammadi © Polio free Afghanistan/2024/ Abdul Saboor Sirat
Jurazada emphasized that polio is an incurable disease that can only be prevented through vaccination. Therefore, it’s crucial for families to regularly vaccinate all their children under the age of five.
She said, “Polio is unlike other diseases because it has no cure. We strongly advise families to collaborate with vaccinators when they visit their homes and ensure that their children receive vaccination.”
Yasmin Mohammadi, a colleague of Ghuncha Jurazada, has been working as a vaccination volunteer with the polio eradication program for the past four years.
She also says that the number of refusing families has decreased compared to previous years and many parents are eager to vaccinate their children.
She stated, “Two years ago, some families refused vaccination. However, due to increased public awareness about the benefits of vaccination, there are now no refusals.”
She requested parents to vaccinate their children during every campaign in order to safeguard them from the dangerous disease of polio.
Ghauncha Jorazada marks a child’s finger after vaccination © Polio Free Afghanistan/2024/Abdul Saboor Sirat
Faryab’s Public Health Director, Fazal Hadi Farooqi, stated that health teams deliver polio vaccines to all parts of the province, vaccinating approximately 600,000 children in each phase of the campaign.
He emphasized, “All health teams, especially volunteers, are tirelessly combating the polio disease as frontline workers. They even travel the province on horses and donkeys to ensure no child is deprived of the vaccine.”
Polio is a dangerous disease that has been eradicated in the rest of the world, but still threatens the lives of children in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.
