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Congo fever claims another life, this time in Takhar province

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Health officials at Takhar Central Hospital say over the past month, they have recorded three positive cases of Congo fever and that one of the three died from the disease.

Officials said the other two were transferred to Antani Hospital in Kabul for treatment.

The officials also said that they are doing everything possible to curb the spread of the disease.

“We are fully prepared because this disease is not new, and we have better measures in Takhar provincial hospital than in the past,” said Hayatullah Emami, director of Takhar Provincial Hospital.

With the increase of Congo fever, the Public Health Directorate and partner institutions have created awareness teams who go out to inform people about the disease.

Congo fever - or Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever - is a viral haemorrhagic fever that is usually transmitted by ticks but it can also be contracted through contact with animal tissues during and immediately post-slaughter of animals.

Congo fever outbreaks constitute a threat to public health services as the virus can lead to epidemics, has a high case fatality ratio (10–40%), potentially results in hospital and health facility outbreaks, and is difficult to prevent and treat.

Some residents of Takhar, expressing their concern over the increase of the disease, say that people should observe hygiene and that the government should speed up the awareness process.

According to doctors, nausea, heartache, diarrhea, internal and external bleeding, neck and eye pain are the main symptoms of Congo fever.

Last month, two patients died of Congo fever in Abu Ali Sinai Balkhi Hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif city, while 10 cases were confirmed in Faryab and Jawzjan.

Health

UNICEF ensures 6.1 million people have access to basic health services in Afghanistan

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More than six million people accessed essential health and nutrition services at UNICEF-supported health facilities last month, the UN agency said in its latest Humanitarian Situation Report for September 1 to 30.

UNICEF said of the 6.1 million people who accessed essential health and nutrition services, half of them were children under the age of five.

In addition, 50 schools in 10 provinces gained access to safe water, handwashing facilities, and newly constructed or rehabilitated toilet facilities.

However, as of September, UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal for children in Afghanistan is only 41 percent funded.

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with 23.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance following decades of conflict, extreme climate shocks, and severe economic decline.

UNICEF also stated that this year, 33 percent of the population receives most of their income from unsustainable income sources, compared to 26 percent in 2023.

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Polio vaccination campaign kicks off in Afghanistan

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Public Health Ministry officials have confirmed that a polio vaccine campaign across 16 provinces was launched on Monday.

Sharaft Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Health, says that the campaign got underway on Monday in a number of provinces including Kabul, Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Zabul, Farah, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Nuristan and some other provinces.

Amarkhil said the campaign will last for three days and an estimated 6.2 million children under the age of five will receive the anti-polio vaccine.

Zaman called on parents, religious scholars and ethnic elders to cooperate with the ministry's vaccinators in implementing the anti-polio vaccination campaign for children under five years old in the mentioned provinces.

The World Health Organization meanwhile published its latest Polio Bulletin on Monday and confirmed Afghanistan has recorded 23 cases of Wild Polio Virus so far this year.

Pakistan meanwhile reported two new cases this week - one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the other in Balochistan province.

Pakistan has recorded a total of 41 cases of polio so far this year, bringing the total between the two countries to 64, against last year’s total of 12 (Afghanistan 6 and Pakistan 6).
World Polio Day

Marking World Polio Day last week, UNICEF pointed out that the current data issues a stark warning that the life-threatening disease continues to thrive in areas where conflict, natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and other destabilizing factors make it difficult to deliver critical healthcare.

“In conflict, children face more than bombs and bullets; they are at risk of deadly diseases that should no longer exist,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“In many countries, we are witnessing the collapse of healthcare systems, destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, and the displacement of families, triggering a resurgence of diseases like polio. Children are being left paralyzed, unable to walk, play, or attend school."

A global decline in childhood immunization has also led to an increase in polio outbreaks, including in countries that had been polio-free for decades.

Nowhere is this more evident than in conflict-affected areas, with 15 out of 21 such countries – including Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen – currently battling polio.

In recent months, UNICEF and partners have intensified emergency responses to surges in polio outbreaks.

In Gaza, for example, UNICEF, in partnership with WHO, reached nearly 600,000 children under 10 years during the first round of a polio vaccination campaign in mid-September. The second and final round has been successfully implemented in south and central Gaza, but renewed mass displacement and bombings have delayed the process in the north.

The campaign follows the return of polio to Gaza for the first time in 25 years.

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AIJU seals deal with private hospital for Afghan media workers

The MoU was signed during a ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday, between Hojatullah Mujadadi, the head of the union, and the director of the private hospital Abdullah Yousafzai.

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The Afghanistan Independent Journalists Union (AIJU) says it has signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a private hospital in Kabul to provide discounted health services to journalists.

The MoU was signed during a ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday, between Hojatullah Mujadadi, the head of the union, and the director of the private hospital Abdullah Yousafzai.

Mujadadi welcomed the move and said this was part of the union’s efforts to ensure media workers are provided with adequate health services.

According to the AIJU, media workers and their immediate families, which include their parents, siblings, spouse and children, will be entitled to substantial discounts for medical treatment at the hospital.

The AIJU said charges would be discounted by between 50% and 70% for media workers.

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