The Taliban Ministry of Public Health announced the launch of the sub-national polio vaccination campaign on Monday in 22 provinces across Afghanistan.
The polio vaccination campaign officially started on Monday, October 17, with support from international organizations, according to the Taliban health ministry, and it will continue for another four days.
This campaign is targeted at 144 districts in 22 different Afghan provinces, with a focus on the southern, southeastern, eastern, northern, western, and central provinces where there is a higher risk of the poliovirus spreading.
The Ministry of Public Health said that more than six rounds of national campaigns and one round of sub-national campaigns have been carried out in Afghanistan this year.
The ministry has highlighted that organizing these campaigns had a positive impact on reducing the spread of the polio virus.
According to a statement by the ministry, two confirmed cases of polio have been reported from the provinces of Paktika and Kunar in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan since the year’s beginning, even though Afghanistan is now closer to eradicating the life-threatening virus than at any other time.
This polio vaccination campaign has been started in collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
To protect their children from developing permanent paralysis, UNICEF has urged all parents to vaccinate their children.
Polio has been completely eradicated worldwide, with the exception of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Only vaccinations can stop the serious, incurable viral disease of polio. Children with the condition are permanently disabled.
