Wars, instability pose vaccine challenges in poor nations
Associated PressDAR MANGI, Pakistan — Arifullah Khan had just administered another polio vaccine when the gunfire blasted from the nearby hills. There was so much gunfire it felt like an explosion,” he said, recalling details of the attack five years ago in Pakistan’s Bajaur tribal region near the Afghan border. The agency aims to transport 850 tons of COVID-19 vaccines a month next year, double its usual annual monthly rate for other vaccines, UNICEF’s executive director Henrietta Fore said in a statement. “Even the mildest and normally preventable diseases can prove fatal due to a lack of health care access in a conflict setting,” said Wasim Bahja, the Yemen country director for International Medical Corps. “But they are suspicious of Western things.” Khan said he signed up to administer polio vaccines because he was paid the equivalent of $56 for just a few days’ work.