Afghanistan Launches Nationwide Polio Vaccination Campaign for Young Children

The Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan has launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign, targeting 12 million children under five years old. This campaign will run for four days.

Launch of Nationwide Polio Vaccination Campaign

The Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health announced the commencement of the polio vaccination campaign across Afghanistan today. Sherafat Zaman, the spokesperson for the ministry, stated that the campaign will last for four days, during which approximately 12,770,000 children under the age of five will be vaccinated against the poliovirus.

The aim of this campaign is to strengthen the immunity of children against polio and to prevent its spread. The ministry also highlighted that in southern Afghanistan, the campaign will start a day later, on Tuesday.

Background of Vaccination Campaigns in Afghanistan

Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Public Health has conducted one nationwide and two supplementary polio vaccination campaigns. This current round represents the fourth phase of the initiative for the year 1402. In addition, special and supplementary programs are ongoing in certain areas, along with public awareness campaigns.

Meanwhile, some environmental samples indicating the presence of the polio virus have been reported; however, the ministry has confirmed that there have been no human cases of the disease to date. Sherafat Zaman mentioned that investigations into several suspicious incidents are ongoing, and further details will be shared with the public once assessments and evidence gathering are complete.