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Millions of Afghan children inoculated against measles, polio in nationwide campaign

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Millions of Afghan children have been vaccinated during the first nationwide integrated measles and polio campaign in Afghanistan since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) came to power in August 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.

Afghanistan has vaccinated 5.36 million nine- to 59-month old children against measles while 6.1 million infants to 59-month-olds received oral polio vaccine during the vaccination drive held from 26 November to 12 December.

Based on the data from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health Expanded Programme on Immunization, the campaign covered 329 districts in all 34 provinces of the country – with 4,341 vaccination teams of four members on each team.

“It warms my heart that we were able to protect Afghan children from measles and polio as we enter the harsh winter season in the country”, said Luo Dapeng, the World Health Organization Representative in Afghanistan.

“I thank all the health workers, partners and donors who made this possible”.

Measles is a dangerous disease, with complications that can include severe diarrhea and dehydration; pneumonia, ear and eye complications; encephalitis or swelling of the brain; and death.

This year, many outbreaks were reported in Afghanistan, mostly among children under age five.

There is no specific treatment for measles and the only reliable protection from measles is vaccination.

“While measles is highly contagious, it is also a preventable disease”, said Dapeng. “We must not lose the decades of progress we have achieved in immunizing and protecting Afghan children”.

As of November, 5,484 cases were confirmed, with approximately 300 deaths attributed to measles infection.

Prior to the nationwide drive, a series of subnational measles immunization campaigns were conducted in 141 districts covering approximately three million children.

“The measles vaccine is safe and has been in use for more than 50 years”, the senior WHO official said.

“The benefits of vaccination are clear, as evidence shows measles vaccination saved over 23 million lives worldwide over the past 20-year period”.

WHO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) supported the measles campaign in Afghanistan with vaccine procurement and delivery and the development of immunization guidelines and communication materials.

The UN agencies also helped to build the capacity of health workers to manage and implement the drive and ensure that all eligible children are protected through safe and effective vaccines for measles and polio, WHO reported.

Health

Chinese researchers find bat virus enters human cells via same pathway as COVID

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A newly discovered bat coronavirus uses the same cell-surface protein to gain entry into human cells as the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, raising the possibility that it could someday spread to humans, Chinese researchers have reported.

The virus does not enter human cells as readily as SARS-CoV-2 does, the Chinese researchers reported in the journal Cell, opens new tab, noting some of its limitations, Reuters reported.

The scientists said that like SARS-CoV-2, the bat virus HKU5-CoV-2 contains a feature known as the furin cleavage site that helps it to enter cells via the ACE2 receptor protein on cell surfaces.

In lab experiments, HKU5-CoV-2 infected human cells with high ACE2 levels in test tubes and in models of human intestines and airways.

In further experiments, the researchers identified monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs that target the bat virus.

Bloomberg, which reported on the study earlier on Friday, said the paper identifying the bat virus had moved shares of COVID vaccine makers. Pfizer shares closed up 1.5% on Friday, Moderna climbed 5.3% and Novavax was up about 1% on a down day for the broader market.

Asked about concerns raised by the report of another pandemic resulting from this new virus, Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, called the reaction to the study “overblown.”

He said there is a lot of immunity in the population to similar SARS viruses compared with 2019, which may reduce the pandemic risk.

The study itself noted that the virus has significantly less binding affinity to human ACE2 than SARS-CoV-2, and other suboptimal factors for human adaptation suggest the “risk of emergence in human populations should not be exaggerated.”

 

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UN warns maternal deaths in Afghanistan may rise after US funding pause

Afghanistan has one of the highest death rates in the world for pregnant women, with a mother dying of preventable pregnancy complications every two hours

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A United Nations aid official said on Tuesday that Washington’s funding pause would cut off millions of Afghans from sexual and reproductive health services, and that the continued absence of this support could cause over 1,000 maternal deaths in Afghanistan from 2025 to 2028.

US President Donald Trump last month ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance, pending assessment of efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy, setting alarm bells ringing among aid groups around the world that depend on US funding.

Trump has also restored US participation in international anti-abortion pacts, cutting off US family planning funds for foreign organisations providing or promoting abortion.

Pio Smith, regional director for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA), said that over nine million people in Afghanistan would lose access to services and over 1.2 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan would also be affected due to the closure of health facilities.

Afghanistan has one of the highest death rates in the world for pregnant women, with a mother dying of preventable pregnancy complications every two hours, he said.

“What happens when our work is not funded? Women give birth alone, in unsanitary conditions…Newborns die from preventable causes,” he told a Geneva press briefing. 

“These are literally the world’s most vulnerable people.”

“If I just take the example of Afghanistan, between 2025 and 2028 we estimate that the absence of US support will result in 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 additional unintended pregnancies,” he said.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, UNFPA receives about $94 million in US funding, he added.

Riva Eskinazi, director of donor relations at the International Planned Parenthood Federation meanwhile told Reuters it, too, would have to halt family planning and sexual and reproductive health services in West Africa as a result of the pause.

“We can foresee an increase in unintended pregnancies and maternal deaths. There is going to be a problem sending contraceptives to our members. It’s devastating,” she said.

IPPF, a federation of national organisations that advocates for sexual and reproductive health, calculates that it would have to forgo at least $61 million in US funding over four years in 13 countries, most of which are in Africa.

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WHO proposes budget cut after US exit, defends its work

On Monday, Tedros also specifically addressed some of Trump’s criticisms, including around the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the WHO’s independence.

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World Health Organization member states will discuss cutting part of its budget by $400 million in light of President Donald Trump’s move to withdraw the U.S., its biggest government funder, from the WHO, a document released on Monday showed.

Opening the U.N. agency’s annual executive board meeting, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also defended the WHO’s work and recent reforms and reiterated a call for Washington to reconsider its exit and enter into dialogue with the agency on further change, Reuters reported.

“We would welcome suggestions from the United States, and all member states, for how we can serve you and the people of the world better,” he said.

The budget cut will be addressed at the Feb. 3-11 Geneva meeting, during which member state representatives will discuss the agency’s funding and work for the 2026-27 period.

The executive board proposes cutting the base programmes section of the budget from a proposed $5.3 billion to $4.9 billion, according to a document released on Monday. That is part of the wider $7.5 billion budget for 2026-27 that was originally proposed, including money for polio eradication and tackling emergencies, read the report.

“With the departure of the biggest financial contributor, the budget could not be ‘business as usual,'” the document reads. The U.S. is the WHO’s biggest government donor, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. The WHO has already separately taken some cost-cutting steps after the U.S. move.

However, some board representatives also wanted to send a message that the WHO would preserve its strategic direction despite the challenges, the document adds.

The $4.9 billion is roughly the same as the base programme budget for the previous period, 2024-2025.

Trump moved to exit the WHO on his first day in office two weeks ago. The process will take one year under U.S. law.

On Monday, Tedros also specifically addressed some of Trump’s criticisms, including around the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the WHO’s independence.

He said the agency acted fast on the COVID outbreak, adding that the WHO is happy to say no to member states where requests go against its mission or science.

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