A polio vaccination campaign began two days late in the southeastern province of Paktia due to restrictions imposed by the Taliban, according to local sources.
Sources in Paktia told Amu that Taliban initially blocked the campaign because of its house-to-house delivery method, which remains a point of contention.
“They stopped the campaign due to the door-to-door approach by vaccinators,” one source said. “They’ve done this before. A few months ago, a funding issue delayed the campaign for nearly two months.”
Health professionals warn that banning door-to-door vaccination could deprive thousands of children of critical immunization and deepen the risk of polio transmission.
Afghanistan is one of only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus remains endemic, alongside Pakistan.
The current four-day campaign is the third of its kind this year and covers 187 districts across 19 provinces.
The urgency of the campaign follows a sharp rise in confirmed polio cases. While only three cases were reported between 2021 and 2023, the number jumped to 25 in 2024, according to official data. Among those cases, 14 were reported in Kandahar, seven in Helmand, two in Uruzgan, and one each in Kunar and Nuristan. So far in 2025, one case has been confirmed in Badghis province.
Taliban have maintained a ban on door-to-door immunization in several regions, citing religious and logistical concerns. The restriction has been in place intermittently since the group’s return to power in August 2021 and continues to hinder full access for health workers, especially in rural and high-risk zones.
