The polio vaccination campaign was kicked off in at least 22 provinces of Afghanistan on Monday, the Taliban ministry of public health said, adding that the program will continue for four days.
Under the campaign, at least six million children under the age of five will be vaccinated against the polio virus, the ministry said.
The campaign is conducted in 194 districts in 22 provinces of the country.
It is the second round of polio vaccination campaign this year. The Taliban’s ministry of public health claims that two cases of polio were reported in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan this year, adding that the number was four in 2021 and 56 in 2020.
According to Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the number of polio cases in Afghanistan in 2021 was 43 in total.
The statement by the ministry has not mentioned the names of the provinces where the campaign will be conducted.
Taliban asked all local authorities, tribal elders, religious scholars and influential figures to cooperate with the vaccination campaign.
Workers of polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan have been facing threats during the implementation of the program. In February, the United Nations said that at least eight members of polio vaccination teams were killed “during the course of their life-saving work” in Afghanistan. It happened during the first round of the vaccination campaign in eastern parts of the country.
According to the UN, at least nine polio vaccination campaign workers were killed in Afghanistan in 2021.
Polio is a highly infectious disease that leads to death or paralyzation of children if not prevented. Three rounds of the vaccine provide nearly 100% immunity against the viral disease.
