KABUL - For the first time ever last week, the cricket teams of India and Afghanistan came together on - and off - the playing field, within the International Cricket Council World Twenty20.

On the eve of the game in St. Lucia, West Indies, captains Nowroz Mangal and Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the Afghan and Indian teams exchanged ‘Bowl Out Polio’ cricket bats, signed by the 11 members of each team in a gesture of solidarity to eliminate polio from India, Afghanistan, Asia and the rest of the world.

“Together we can bowl out polio, fielding education,” stressed Afghan team captain Nowroz Mangal.

While India won the game by seven wickets, the success of the encounter goes far beyond the playground.

The teams have joined hands to ‘Bowl out Polio,’ a virus that cripples and kills young children. Today polio is endemic only in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nigeria

Progress is underway. Compared to 383 during the first four months of 2009, there have been 84 cases of polio this year, including 19 in India and eight in Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, insecurity is the key hurdle in eradicating polio, since vaccination teams can’t reach all children in conflict-affected areas. While lack of community participation was a major hurdle in the past, the frequentation of health centers was boosted with the increasing number of children enrolled in education. Today, over 6.8 million Afghan children are enrolled in primary education, including 1.8 million girls. At the same time, the polio virus has been limited to 13 insecure districts.

As India nears the goal of eradication, the frequency of polio vaccination rounds has been intensified, increasing children’s immunity.

Since 2007, more than 40 per cent of polio cases outside the endemic Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar occurred in migrant communities. “If we do not end polio in India, the rest of the world will suffer,” said Indian captain MS Dhoni.

Cricketers in India have been intensively involved with polio eradication efforts since 2003, when the ‘Bowl Out Polio’ campaign was launched by Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan. Today, the team promotes oral polio vaccination countrywide.

In Afghanistan, cricket is gaining momentum as a national sport. In the 1990s, the game became popular among Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan, who continued to play cricket upon return to their home country. Unlike music and other sports, the Taliban eventually authorized cricket.

“My future as a cricket player was secured a long time ago, when I was a child,” says Raees Ahmadzai, member of the Afghan cricket team and founder of the Afghan Youth Cricket Support Organization (AYCSO).

In 2009, UNICEF and AYCSO organized a cricket training camp for 50 children in Kabul; similar activities are planned for this year.

As long as India and Afghanistan continue to see polio transmission, all of their neighbours are at high risk of re-infection. In fact, in recent weeks, both Nepal and Tajikistan have been re-infected with the virus.

Dr Bruce Aylward, the Director of the Polio Eradication Initiative at the World Health Organization (WHO), paid tribute to the Afghanistan and India cricket teams for raising awareness on polio at such a critical time. "Right now we have the best chance we've ever had to end polio forever," he said. “The greatest threat to finishing the job by end of 2010 remains the US$ 1.2 billion funding gap. The world must not squander this unique opportunity to bowl out polio, once and for all."

Meanwhile, Afghanistan play South Africa in their second match this evening in Barbados.

By Cornelia Walther, UNICEF

Website: World Health Organization

Website: United Nations Children's Fund

Website: International Cricket Council