KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) says the second phase of this year’s polio vaccination campaign has begun in Afghanistan.
In a statement, the ministry said 8.3 million children will be vaccinated across 20 provinces between May 18 and 21.
It added that the targeted provinces span the central, southern, eastern, western, south-eastern, northern and north-eastern regions of the country.
The MoPH said the campaign in Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan and Zabul will run from May 19 to 22.
Public Health Minister Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali said in a statement marking the launch: “The Ministry of Public Health is committed, in cooperation with its partners, to controlling the wild poliovirus among children in Afghanistan.”
He added: “We are working to ensure that polio vaccination campaigns and complementary health services continue, so that our goal of completely eradicating polio nationwide can be achieved.”
He also urged religious scholars, tribal elders, parents and other influential figures to support vaccination teams.
UNICEF representative Tajudeen Oyewale said on May 5 that 12 million children in Afghanistan had received polio vaccines in 2025.
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