The Taliban-run Ministry of Public Health has announced the launch of a polio (poliomyelitis) vaccination campaign across 18 provinces of Afghanistan.
According to the ministry, the campaign has begun today (Monday, 13 Dalw) in 15 provinces, including Kabul, and will continue until Thursday. In the provinces of Helmand, Uruzgan, and Zabul, the campaign is scheduled to start on Tuesday and will run through Friday.
The ministry also said that polio vaccination campaigns will begin next Monday in two districts of Faryab province and two districts of Badghis province.
Officials stated that approximately 7.3 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated nationwide during this campaign.
This is the first polio vaccination campaign to be carried out in Afghanistan in the year 2026.
In 2025, nine positive cases of polio were recorded in the country, including one case in Uruzgan, three in Helmand, one in Badghis, one in Nuristan, two in Paktika, and one in Farah.
So far in the current year, no new polio cases have been officially reported in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been completely eradicated.
