KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban officials in Badghis province have reported the country’s first confirmed case of polio in 2025, highlighting ongoing challenges in eradicating the disease in one of the last two countries where it remains endemic.
Mohammad Yousuf Najmi, the Taliban’s director of cultural immunity at the Badghis Public Health Directorate, said the case was identified in a five-year-old girl, Nasima, from Qoruto, Qandahari village in the Bala Murghab district. She is currently receiving medical care, he said.
Polio cases in Afghanistan have surged over the past year, with 23 cases recorded in 2024, a sharp increase compared with previous years.
Health experts warn that the Taliban’s ban on house-to-house polio vaccination campaigns has made it significantly harder to immunize children, particularly in remote and conflict-affected areas. Some vaccinators and doctors say the restrictions leave many children vulnerable, contributing to the rise in infections.
Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic, despite ongoing efforts by global health organizations to eliminate the virus.
