October 24, recognized globally as World Polio Day, comes amid the Taliban’s move to halt door-to-door polio vaccination campaigns in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar.
Sources previously told Amu TV that the Taliban had fully stopped polio immunization efforts in these provinces, where the disease remains a significant threat.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported three new polio cases in Kandahar and Helmand in October alone.
According to the WHO, two cases were confirmed in the districts of Maiwand and Ghorak in Kandahar, while one case was recorded in Nahr-e-Saraj, Helmand.
The organization also noted that the total number of environmental polio cases recorded in 2024 has reached 410, with 74 cases in Afghanistan and 336 in Pakistan.
Despite these figures, the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Public Health said it has launched six nationwide polio vaccination campaigns this year.
