Polio vaccination campaign launched across 23 provinces in Afghanistan

The Ministry of Public Health says a polio vaccination campaign started in 23 provinces in Afghanistan on Monday.

Sharafat Zaman Amarkhel, the spokesperson of the ministry, said nearly eight million children under the age of five will be vaccinated during this round.

According to Amarkhel, this polio vaccination campaign will run from July 8 to 11, and millions of children will be protected against the polio virus through vaccination.

“The Ministry of Public Health wants ethnic elders, religious scholars, professors to cooperate with vaccinators so that we can eradicate polio in Afghanistan,” said Amarkhel.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also said that this vaccination campaign will start on Monday in different provinces of Afghanistan.

The organization has asked all citizens, especially parents, to “do their part for a polio-free Afghanistan”.

The previous round of the national polio vaccination campaign was carried out last month in cooperation with international organizations throughout Afghanistan and this campaign continued for four days, during which, according to the Ministry of Public Health, more than 11.2 million children received the vaccination.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are two countries in the world where the polio virus still kills children.

The ministry’s statistics show that in 2023, six positive cases of polio were recorded in eastern Afghanistan, which, according to officials, was due to the return of Afghan immigrants from Pakistan.

Related Stories: 

Polio vaccination campaign gets underway in Afghanistan

Polio vaccination campaign kicks off across Afghanistan