Diplomatic outcry over shootings of 3 female polio workers

Foreign partners in Afghanistan condemned the “brutal” killing of three female employees of the national polio vaccination campaign who were gunned down in two separate incidents in Nangarhar province on Tuesday.

Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Kabul Ross Wilson stated that targeting polio campaign workers “demonstrates a total disregard for human life.”

“Such attacks are a direct affront to Afghans’ dream of building a better life for their children. My deepest condolences for the victims’ families as we call for justice,” Wilson said.

“Afghanistan is one of only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic; this campaign is an important step to protect Afghan children from facing an infectious disease that can cause debilitating paralysis. Attacking vaccinators is as heartless as it is inexplicable,” he tweeted.

The EU in turn said the attack was a “brutal breach” of International Humanitarian Law, stating “perpetrators must be brought to justice, health workers kept out of harm’s way & the sanctity of health facilities respected.

“The EU remains a strong supporter of the health sector in Afghanistan & we call on the parties to allow equal access to vaccinations.”

The French Embassy in Kabul also condemned the incident and said: “The horrifying killing of 3 female vaccinators against polio is another step in the targeting of civilians. Such violation of humanitarian law runs contrary to all efforts for peace and for alleviating the sufferings of Afghanistan, one of the countries most hit by polio.”

This comes after the three women were killed in two separate incidents in Jalalabad in Nangarhar on Tuesday morning.

Security sources said two women were killed in PD7 and another one was shot dead in PD4 of the provincial capital Jalalabad.

No group, so far, has claimed responsibility for the attack which prompted a wide outcry in the country.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have widely been the only two countries that still have cases of polio.

However, this week, the World Health Organization stated that as of 18 March, four cases of polio in children had been detected in Tajikistan.