A child receives a dose of anti-polio vaccine in Kabul, Afghanistan, Feb. 27, 2024.
A new round of anti-polio campaign was launched in 21 out of Afghanistan's 34 provinces on Monday, Ministry of Public Health spokesperson Sharafat Zaman Amar said.
In the four-day anti-polio drive, around 7.6 million children under 5 are expected to receive the immunity doses against the crippling disease in the country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
KABUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A new round of anti-polio campaign was launched in 21 out of Afghanistan's 34 provinces on Monday, Ministry of Public Health spokesperson Sharafat Zaman Amar said.
In the four-day anti-polio drive, around 7.6 million children under 5 are expected to receive the immunity doses against the crippling disease in the country.
This is the second round of anti-polio drive in Afghanistan over the time of one month.
In the first round in January almost the same number of children under 5 had received vaccines as part of the government's efforts to eradicate polio from the impoverished central Asian nation.
Six polio cases, mostly in the eastern region of Afghanistan were reportedly registered last year, and so far in 2024 no cases of the crippling disease has been confirmed in the country.
In the meantime, health officials in Afghanistan's Herat has reported that no polio case was recorded in the western province over the past three years.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund, Afghanistan and Pakistan are currently the only two polio-endemic countries in the world. ■
A child receives a dose of anti-polio vaccine in Kabul, Afghanistan, Feb. 27, 2024.
A new round of anti-polio campaign was launched in 21 out of Afghanistan's 34 provinces on Monday, Ministry of Public Health spokesperson Sharafat Zaman Amar said.
In the four-day anti-polio drive, around 7.6 million children under 5 are expected to receive the immunity doses against the crippling disease in the country. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
