Polio vaccination drive begins in east

JALALABAD (PAN): A three-day polio eradication campaign aimed at 722,000 children under five years of age got under way in eastern provinces on Sunday, officials said.

The campaign is an initiative of the Ministry of Public Health in eastern Kunar, Nuristan, Laghman and Nangarhar provinces, the director of public health department in Nangarhar, Dr. Baz Mohammad Sherzad, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said there were no obstacles to the campaign even in the remote areas of the provinces.

Up to 5,250 workers and volunteers will administer the polio vaccine during the campaign, which will give families an opportunity to get their children vaccinated in the four provinces, Dr. Abdul Salam Rasuli, the head of the campaign, said.

Last year, nine cases of polio were reported across Afghanistan, eight of them in Kandahar and Helmand and another in Farah.

myn/kg

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