New Round Of Polio Vaccination Campaign Begins In Afghanistan

A new round of polio vaccination campaign began on Monday, December 23, in 11 provinces of Afghanistan. The Taliban's Ministry of Public Health has announced that 4.8 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated in this phase.

The Taliban's Ministry of Public Health announced that the campaign will continue for three days. Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, the ministry's spokesman, called on the people to cooperate in the implementation of the campaign.

"Vaccinate all your children, including babies and sick children," the organisation “Polio-Free Afghanistan" wrote on the social media platform X.

Afghanistan is one of only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated.

In December this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported a 283% increase in polio cases in Afghanistan. According to the organisation's statistics, 25 cases of the disease have been recorded in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year.

However, the Taliban had previously claimed that no positive cases of polio had been reported in Afghanistan.