Afghanistan Launches Polio Vaccination Campaign to in 18 Provinces

DID Press: Taliban Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with international organizations, has launched a polio vaccination campaign across 18 provinces of Afghanistan. The campaign aims to vaccinate 7.3 million children under the age of five against polio. The World Health Organization has warned that polio has not been eradicated in Afghanistan.

The campaign, running from January 31 to February 16, 2026, will cover provinces such as Kabul, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat, and Balkh provinces, with areas like Faryab and Badghis continuing until February 12.

Khwaja Ahmad Hanifi, the acting head of the Ministry of Public Health in Herat, emphasized that mobile teams and volunteers will conduct door-to-door efforts to ensure that all children under five are vaccinated.

He stressed that speeding up the process is critical, as any delay in vaccination could lead to the spread of the disease.

Afghanistan remains one of the few countries in the world where polio has not been fully eradicated. The WHO recently reported two new cases of polio in Badghis and Helmand, further highlighting that the disease still persists in certain areas of the country.

Despite significant progress in recent years, especially in vaccination efforts, polio remains a serious threat, particularly in remote and hard-to-reach regions of Afghanistan.

With the launch of this campaign, the Taliban Ministry of Public Health hopes that widespread vaccination will completely eliminate the spread of polio in Afghanistan.