Polio Vaccination Campaign Launched Across 18 Provinces in Afghanistan

Public Health Ministry announced Monday a polio vaccination campaign has begun across 18 provinces targeting 7.3 million children under age five throughout Afghanistan.

Ministry spokesperson Sharaf Zaman Amarkhel stated the campaign is underway in Kabul, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Nuristan, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Badghis, Herat, Kunduz, Faryab, Balkh, Zabul, Uruzgan, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces.

The “Polio Free Afghanistan” organization also confirmed the vaccination drive is being conducted in cooperation with international health organizations and partners.

Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries worldwide where wild poliovirus has not been eradicated, with transmission continuing due to insecurity, vaccine hesitancy, and access challenges. Previous Taliban opposition to vaccination campaigns during their insurgency created polio reservoirs, though the group has recently allowed immunization efforts, raising hopes for potential eradication if campaigns reach all children consistently.

Polio eradication efforts in Afghanistan face persistent obstacles including nomadic populations, remote mountain communities, ongoing conflict in certain areas, and mistrust of vaccines fueled by misinformation. The disease primarily affects children under five, causing irreversible paralysis, and requires multiple vaccine doses to ensure immunity, making sustained campaign access critical for breaking transmission chains in the two remaining endemic countries.

The World Health Organization recorded two confirmed polio cases in 2025 in Badghis and Helmand provinces, underscoring continued virus circulation in Afghanistan.

Polio remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the last two countries in the world where the crippling disease has not been completely eliminated despite decades of eradication efforts.

The vaccination campaign represents critical progress toward polio eradication goals, though sustained access to all children remains essential for eliminating the disease from Afghanistan permanently.

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