Afghanistan recorded the fourth confirmed case of polio in 2023 in Behsud district of eastern Nangarhar province, where a four-year-old boy has been permanently paralyzed due to poliovirus. Polio campaign officials have confirmed the incident.
The polio compign coordinator, Nek Mohammad said on Thursday this is the fourth polio infection reported in Nangarhar province this year, with the three previous cases identified in Nazyan, Kot and Bati Kot districts.
Health officials in Nangarhar province, expressed concern over the increase in positive cases of polio, saying all children under the age of five are at risk of infection with this disease.
In 2022, two polio cases were recorded in Kunar and Paktia provinces, the lowest level in the country’s history.
According to Global Polio Eradication Initiative, polio remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan and both countries remain at high risk due to conflicts and weak public and immunization services.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health announced on May 15 that it had begun a three-day polio vaccination campaign across 23 provinces, covering 217 districts. According to the group, the campaign will immunize 6.4 million children under five.
