Topic: Managing Secondary Effects of Disease Outbreaks
Country: Afghanistan
Delegate Name: Kathleen Fallon
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Afghanistan position papers GLIMUN 2016 committees
Oftentimes, when we hear of disease outbreak, we become concerned with the excess of sickness that are maintained by infectious agents that spread directly from person to person. With this, every country has various secondary effects that wreak havoc on society. These aftershock effects can regularly have a longer lasting ramifications on the economy and society in which it is imposed. Epidemic-prone disease are a considerable threat to public health security and to developments economically and socially in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In effect, pandemics such as these damage and create tolls on society such as the direct costs of treating illness, the reduction in labor supply, and losses in sectors such as travel or trade because of declining tourism rates.
Afghanistan is one of two countries that still have polio prevalently existent in everyday life. Every polio case places all children at risk of polio infection. As a body of the U.N., WHO has been consistent in their support of the eradication of polio in our country. As of May 2016, our Ministry of Public Health has launched a public health initiative to vaccinate every child under the age of five to eradicate polio nationwide. Recently, over 60,000 Afghan frontline polio workers were trained, supported by WHO, to further enhance their skill in vaccination, campaign monitoring, and interpersonal communications. These vaccinators have been selected because of their care for the children and therefore are trusted by the communities they work in. Stopping the transmission of poliovirus here is possible if every child is reached during the vaccination campaign. However, the Afghan government cannot pay for the costs of the eradication of polio due to its unstable economic climate. NGOs such as Rotary International, GEPI, and UNICEF have contributed along with WHO to support our government. Unfortunately, the Taliban has been known to restrict polio vaccination groups for regions of the country because of a suspicion of government spying. This is concerning because other Taliban groups in Pakistan have been attacking and killing these vaccinators for years, a practice which the Afghan counterparts have not shown any remorse towards in contrast to their general toleration of disease eradication. Although the economic and social secondary effects of disease are high in our country, we are equally concerned with the potential damage insurgent groups could cause onto disease workers and the country alike.
The rate of emerging diseases arising is increasing, and to minimize the potential ramifications, we must review the costs and effectiveness of policy approaches and determine the magnitude of damage the burdens cause. Early detection and report of such instances is imperative to minimizing their impact. Being a third-world country, Afghanistan does not have the financial solidity to finance large vaccination campaigns and simultaneously keep a stable economy. Therefore, we ask for financial aide to compensate workers and to run preventative programs to keep the economic, social, and physical health of our country secure.
