Noor Jalal Jalali, the Taliban’s Minister of Public Health, met with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, to discuss strengthening healthcare collaboration and advancing efforts to eradicate polio and other communicable diseases.
The meeting, held during Jalali’s visit to Saudi Arabia, focused on expanding healthcare access to underserved and remote communities, according to a statement from the Taliban-run health ministry. It also emphasized enhancing Afghanistan’s representation in global health forums and developing district-level healthcare frameworks to achieve greater self-sufficiency in the health sector.
“This high-stakes dialogue revolved around strengthening synergies in the healthcare domain, amplifying initiatives to eradicate polio and other transmissible diseases, expanding healthcare access to marginalized and remote communities, and ensuring robust representation of the Ministry of Public Health in distinguished global health forums and summits,” the statement read.
The discussions come as polio continues to pose a significant public health challenge in Afghanistan. The WHO reported 23 confirmed cases of polio in Afghanistan this year, out of a total of 71 cases documented across Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan accounted for the remaining 48 cases.
Efforts to combat polio in Afghanistan have faced numerous obstacles, including conflict, limited access to certain regions, and restrictions on female health workers, who play a critical role in vaccination campaigns. Public health experts stress the importance of sustained international collaboration to achieve polio eradication in the region.
