A new polio vaccination campaign has been launched in 16 provinces across Afghanistan, according to the polio-Free Afghanistan page.
The four-day campaign began on Sunday (December 14), and is being carried out mainly in southern and eastern parts of the country. Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health says the drive aims to vaccinate around 7.2 million children under the age of five.
Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the ministry, confirmed that health teams will go door to door during the campaign period.
So far this year, nine positive cases of polio have been recorded in Afghanistan. These include one case in Uruzgan, three in Helmand, one in Badghis, one in Nuristan, two in Paktika, and one in Farah.
Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated.
