KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan on Monday launched its second polio vaccination campaign of the year, aiming to immunize 6.3 million children under the age of five across 16 provinces, the Taliban-run Ministry of Public Health announced.
The campaign seeks to curb the spread of polio, a disease that continues to threaten children, particularly in the country’s southern and eastern regions.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of confirmed polio cases in Afghanistan has quadrupled this year compared with the previous year. The first case of 2025 was reported in Badghis, in western Afghanistan, where the vaccination drive began on Sunday. Local Taliban health officials said 118,000 children under five would receive the vaccine in the province.
Despite ongoing vaccination efforts, some Afghan citizens have expressed concerns that the Taliban’s ban on door-to-door polio immunization has left many children unprotected, contributing to the rise in cases. Instead of the previous home-based approach, parents are now required to bring their children to mosques or health centers for vaccination—a shift that some say creates obstacles, particularly during the winter months.
“In the past, health workers would come to our doorsteps, which made it much easier,” said Sharifa Ahmadi, a resident of Kabul. “Now they ask us to take our children to mosques or health centers, but it’s too cold, and the children get sick.”
The Taliban initially halted door-to-door vaccinations in Kandahar and Helmand in September and later extended the ban to other provinces, a decision that health experts warn could put more children at risk.
Polio remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the highest number of cases this year reported in Afghanistan’s southern provinces. Kandahar has recorded 11 cases, Helmand eight, Uruzgan two, while Paktika, Kunar, Nuristan, and Badghis have each reported one case.
As concerns grow, organizations like Polio-Free Afghanistan continue to urge parents to ensure their children receive the vaccine. “To prevent childhood paralysis, vaccinate your children,” the group wrote in a message on X.
