Taliban Suspends Polio Vaccination Campaign in Afghanistan

The Taliban on Monday suspended a polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported, citing the United Nations.

The reason for the suspension of the campaign has not yet been announced, and Taliban officials have not publicly commented on the matter.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries in the world which have not been able to stop the spread of this deadly and paralysing disease among children.

A senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official told The Associated Press that he is aware of discussions about changing the approach from door-to-door vaccination to vaccination in places such as mosques.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has so far confirmed 18 cases of polio in Afghanistan this year. Except for two cases, all of them have been reported in the south of the country. This figure shows an increase compared to six cases in 2023.