Free Polio: Nationwide Polio Vaccination Campaign to Begin Tomorrow Across Afghanistan

The Polio Eradication Office in Afghanistan (Free Polio Afghanistan) has announced that the third round of the national polio vaccination campaign will begin tomorrow (Monday, April 21) across the country.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the office stated: “Polio has no cure, but it can easily be prevented through vaccination.”

The organization has also urged families to allow all children under the age of five to participate in the campaign, regardless of their previous vaccination history. This marks the third round of polio vaccination in Afghanistan in 2024.

This year, the first confirmed case of polio in Afghanistan was reported in the northwestern province of Badghis. The infected individual is a five-year-old girl from the village of Qoroto in the Bala Murghab district.

In 2023, a total of 113 environmental samples of polio were reported in Afghanistan, with more than half originating from the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand. Additionally, out of 25 confirmed human cases, 14 were in Kandahar, 7 in Helmand, 2 in Uruzgan, and 1 each in Kunar and Nuristan provinces

According to the World Health Organization, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries in the world that have yet to completely eradicate polio.