Eight workers providing polio vaccinations in Afghanistan were killed.
The workers, who were spread across four different locations, were killed on Thursday while providing their services to the local community, according to the United Nations.
“We are appalled by the brutality of these killings, across four separate locations,” said U.N. Afghanistan Representative Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov in a Thursday statement.
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One member of the vaccination transit team was killed in the Taloqan District in Takhar Province, Alakbarov said. Four team members that traveled house-to-house were killed in two separate incidents in the city of Kunduz. Finally, two vaccinators and a social mobilizer were killed in the Emamsaheb District, located in Kunduz Province.
“The United Nations extends its deepest condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of these courageous health workers,” the envoy said.
The violence led the Taliban to suspend traveling teams of doctors providing polio vaccines, Alakbarov said. It is unclear who is behind the violence, however. This is not the first time that polio vaccination doctors have been attacked. Five polio workers were killed in June 2021 by unknown parties in Nangarhar Province.
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Afghanistan is one of the few remaining countries where polio is a significant danger for youth, as several communities have not been vaccinated against the virus.
U.N. officials say that they have vaccinated more children under the Taliban’s regime. Health workers vaccinated an additional 2.6 million Afghan children in November and December, reported Voice of America.
