Afghanistan launches polio drive in former ISIL areas



Kabul // Afghanistan launched a polio vaccination campaign on Monday aimed at reaching children in areas previously controlled by ISIL militants, officials said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic – a fact blamed on opposition to immunisation by radicalised groups, who claim the vaccines are a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims or a cover for spying.

The latest five-day drive will look to reach about 9.5 million children nationwide, the health ministry’s Sardar Parwiz said, with officials hoping to take advantage of reduced fighting in the east following successes from US-backed military operations.

“We have already started contacting locals in areas retaken from Daesh. We will send our teams to those areas, but if they face any problems, we will ask locals to transport their children to our clinics in safer areas,” he said.

Fighters pledging allegiance to ISIL had been in control of several districts in eastern Nangarhar province on the border with Pakistan, before they were pushed out by Afghan and Nato forces.

Last month, Afghan troops backed by US air strikes seized large parts of the mountainous district of Kot in Nangarhar, a key ISIL stronghold where the extremists set up Sharia courts and training camps displaying their trademark black flag.

Najibullah Kamawal, the head of the health department in Nangarhar said some districts had been unreachable for over a year, leaving thousands of children without medical assistance.

“It is a challenge, it is risky, but we are determined to go to every village and vaccinate the kids,” he said.

Noorul Habib a teacher in Kot district said by phone the elders and local population were determined to support the campaign.

“We know polio is dangerous, we will do our best to support this campaign. All the elders have sent messages to militants not to disrupt the campaign. We have also told them not to destroy mosques, clinics and schools,” he said.

Afghanistan registered eight polio cases, mostly in the eastern part of the country in the first half of the year, according to ministry of health. Most of them are believed to have been imported from Pakistan.

* Agence France-Presse

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Sustainable Development Goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

10. Reduce inequality  within and among countries

11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects

14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile

Started: 2013

Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev

Sector: e-commerce

Size: 600 plus

Stage: still in talks with VCs

Principal Investors: self-financed by founder

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter

1. Dubai silk road

2.  A geo-economic map for Dubai

3. First virtual commercial city

4. A central education file for every citizen

5. A doctor to every citizen

6. Free economic and creative zones in universities

7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes

8. Co-operative companies in various sectors

­9: Annual growth in philanthropy

Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL

Al Nasr 2

(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)

Shabab Al Ahli 1

(Jaber 13)

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Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
FIRST TEST SCORES

England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)

England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0

Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)

 

yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai 

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

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