KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced that the Government of Japan is contributing $5 million to support polio eradication efforts and bolster vaccination programs across Afghanistan.
In a statement today, UNICEF said the funding will be channeled through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
According to the agency, the support is intended to help deliver essential polio vaccines and routine immunizations to approximately 13 million children throughout Afghanistan, while also reinforcing the country’s national polio eradication campaign.
“The government and people of Japan recognize the importance of eradicating polio in Afghanistan and remain committed to this goal,” said Takeyoshi Kuramaya, Japan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan.
“We hope this new initiative—part of our two-decade-long partnership with UNICEF in delivering quality vaccines—will improve the health and well-being of children and families across Afghanistan,” he added.
Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, stressed that ending polio in Afghanistan is within reach. He noted that Japan’s contribution will help ensure the delivery of high-quality vaccination services even in the most remote areas of the country.
UNICEF also highlighted that the new funding will address urgent gaps in vaccine supply for 2025, strengthen human resource capacity, and sustain immunization coverage in underserved regions.
Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries where polio is still endemic. Efforts to eliminate the virus continue to face major obstacles, including security threats and widespread misinformation about vaccines.
In 2023, Afghanistan reported 25 human polio cases and 113 environmental detections, with the majority concentrated in the southern provinces: 14 in Kandahar, seven in Helmand, two in Uruzgan, and one each in Kunar and Nuristan.
Health experts warn that ongoing Taliban restrictions on female health workers—who are crucial to accessing households in conservative communities—pose a serious threat to vaccination campaigns. Their exclusion has raised alarm over children’s growing vulnerability to future outbreaks.
