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Afghanistan

Survivors of Russian Plane Crash in Afghanistan in ‘Good Health,’ Taliban Reports

Leave a Comment / By / Governance Community

Taliban administration announced that four survivors of a charter plane crash in northern Afghanistan are in “good health.” The incident involved a plane en route to Moscow, and while the survivors appear to be in stable condition, the bodies of two passengers killed in the crash are being transported to the Afghan capital. Russian aviation authorities reported on Sunday that the plane, carrying six individuals, disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan on Saturday night. Afghan police received reports of a crash in the mountainous Badakhshan province. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated, “Four people from the crashed plane in Badakhshan were transferred to Kabul, the medical and rescue teams of the Ministry of Aviation and the Ministry of Defence have provided them with first aid.” Video footage released by Mujahid’s office showed the survivors disembarking from a helicopter accompanied by Taliban officials. The footage revealed visible injuries on some survivors, with one individual displaying bloodstains on his clothes. An unnamed Taliban official in the video affirmed the good health of the survivors, expressing gratitude for finding the crash site. The bodies of the deceased passengers have been moved to Fayzabad, a northern provincial city, and are en route to Kabul. According to Russian state-run TASS news agency, the crashed flight had conducted a private medical evacuation from Thailand’s Pattaya, a popular destination for Russian tourists, to Moscow. Approximately 25 minutes before disappearing from radar screens, the pilot reportedly issued a warning about low fuel and indicated an attempt to land in Tajikistan, as reported by the Russian news outlet SHOT.

Polio Remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern: WHO

Leave a Comment / By / Health & Wellness Community

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a report stating that the risk of the poliovirus spreading internationally remains a significant concern for public health. Currently, there are no travel restrictions in place for Pakistan. The potential for the international transmission of Wild Poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Africa is influenced by various factors. One of the reasons for polio transmission in Pakistan is the ongoing spread of the virus from eastern Afghanistan across the border. Additionally, there is a worrisome number of unvaccinated children in southern Afghanistan, posing a continuous risk of WPV1 reintroduction in that region. The report highlights suboptimal immunization coverage during vaccination campaigns in southeastern Africa, specifically in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, which may lead to insufficient population immunity to stop transmission. In Pakistan, a new WPV1 case was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on February 20, 2023. Furthermore, environmental surveillance has detected three positive samples in 2023, two in Punjab and one in KP, with two of them linked to viruses circulating in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, no new cases have been reported in 2023, with the last case occurring on August 29, 2022. However, there have been 18 positive environmental samples in 2023, all from the eastern region, with three from Kunar and 15 from Nangarhar. Regarding the WPV1 outbreak in southern Africa, there have been no new cases reported since August 10, 2022, in Mozambique. To mitigate the risk of polio spread, the WHO committee recommends that all residents and long-term visitors (staying more than four weeks) of all ages should receive a dose of either bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV) or inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) between four weeks and 12 months before international travel. Travelers should also obtain an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis as proof of vaccination. The committee emphasizes the need to restrict international travel for residents lacking appropriate polio vaccination documentation at the point of departure, regardless of the mode of transportation.