Polio Vaccination Campaign To Begin Across Afghanistan On September 21

The campaign will begin across all provinces of Afghanistan, while vaccination teams in the southern region will start operations a day later, according to the initiative's announcement on X. The programme said oral polio vaccines will be administered to eligible children to strengthen immunity and prevent further transmission of the virus.

The campaign comes as health officials in Nangarhar province recently confirmed five new polio cases this year, raising concerns about continued virus transmission in eastern Afghanistan. Earlier targeted vaccination drives were launched in high-risk districts of Nangarhar to contain the outbreak following additional detections of wild poliovirus.

The World Health Organization's latest assessment says Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries in the world with ongoing transmission of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1). WHO reported that Afghanistan recorded 14 new polio cases during the latest reporting period, most linked to transmission in the country's southern and eastern regions, although the overall trajectory of cases and environmental detections has declined compared with previous years.

International health agencies have repeatedly warned that vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan continue to face operational challenges. WHO said the suspension of house-to-house vaccination campaigns in many areas has reduced the programme's ability to reach every child, particularly in parts of southern Afghanistan where virus transmission remains concentrated. UNICEF has also warned that population movement, limited healthcare access, and gaps in routine immunization continue to leave children vulnerable to infection.

The Polio-Free Afghanistan initiative stressed that the vaccine is safe, effective, and the only proven way to protect children from lifelong paralysis caused by poliovirus. It urged parents to ensure their children receive the vaccine during every campaign, even if they have been vaccinated previously, to strengthen immunity and help eliminate the disease.

Despite decades of global eradication efforts, Afghanistan continues to report sporadic polio cases, making nationwide vaccination campaigns a key component of the country's public health strategy to interrupt transmission and prevent further outbreaks.

MENAFN16092026000228011069ID1111672468