KABUL: The Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with international organizations, has officially launched the first round of the Polio vaccination campaign for 2026. The campaign will cover approximately 7.3 million children under the age of five across 172 districts and 16 provinces. Most areas will be covered over a three-day period (February 2–5). However, in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, and Zabul, vaccinations will take place from February 3 to 6, and in four districts of Faryab and Badghis from February 9 to 12. Noor Jalal Jalali, the Taliban’s Minister of Public Health, emphasized that efforts to stop the wild polio virus through vaccination campaigns and supplemental health services will continue, and the role of community leaders and religious scholars in supporting vaccinators is crucial. Last year, two positive cases of polio were reported in Afghanistan, one in the Bala Murghab district of Badghis province and another in Helmand. Experts state that the only way to prevent permanent paralysis or death in children is timely vaccination. In Pakistan, the first nationwide campaign this year has also commenced to vaccinate over 45 million children, with health workers operating door-to-door. Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only countries where the polio virus has not been eradicated.
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