Afghanistan to Launch Nationwide Polio Vaccination Campaign Tomorrow
The Afghanistan Free of Polio page has announced that a new campaign to administer the childhood polio vaccine will begin tomorrow, Monday, 30 Sunbula, across Afghanistan. The campaign is being launched as the number of positive polio cases in the country has risen, placing Afghanistan at the top of the global list for the disease.
In a message posted on X, the page urged families to vaccinate their children and help prevent the spread of polio. The new campaign begins at a time when nationwide polio vaccination had been suspended for a period, and in recent months it had covered only some areas of the country.
The latest round of the campaign was held on 20 Saratan this year in Nuristan province and five districts of Kunar province. In that round, both types of polio vaccine, injectable and oral drops, were administered to children.
According to World Health Organization figures, 23 human polio cases and 76 environmental samples of the virus have been recorded in Afghanistan since the start of this calendar year. The agency says Afghanistan currently has the highest number of polio cases in the world.
Pakistan ranks second, with three human polio cases and 127 environmental samples recorded this year. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been fully eradicated.
