Last year, Afghanistan reported 80,000 cases of tuberculosis, highlighting the persistent threat of the disease.

Richard Slayman, a 62-year-old resident of Weymouth, Massachusetts, underwent the groundbreaking four-hour surgery on Saturday.

The Taliban-run Ministry of Public Health said in a statement the campaign would last three days.

The last polio vaccination campaign was conducted in January in some of the country's provinces.

HRW interviewed Afghan and foreign aid officials, healthcare workers, and patients across 16 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces between February 2023.

The latest poliovirus case was recorded in Nangarhar province at the end of the previous month.

Dr. Daud Hashemi, the hospital's chief, noted an increase in patient visits, with daily numbers ranging from 300 to 350.

Locals report that their children are falling ill, and in many villages, there are no medical facilities available for treatment,.

The initial kidney sale, a desperate bid to alleviate his family's poverty, has left Tawab grappling with debilitating health issues.