KABUL (SW) – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign across Afghanistan.
The campaign started today. UNICEF said children would also be given vitamin A at this stage.
Meanwhile, officials at the Ministry of Public Health say that the polio vaccination campaign will vaccinate 1.2 million children under the age of five across Afghanistan.
“It is planned to vaccinate 1.2 million children in this phase,” said Javed Hajir, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health. “Unfortunately, since the beginning of this year, one positive case of polio has been registered in Paktika province, but we do not have another positive case. While last year there were four positive cases. We are close to eradicating polio, and we need everyone’s cooperation.”
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two countries in the world that still suffer from polio. Doctors say unemployment and insecurity under the previous government have prevented the disease from being eradicated from Afghanistan.
In an interview with Salam Watandar, Dr. Mohammad Hashim Wahaj emphasized the importance of fighting the disease and called on the country to take serious measures to eradicate the disease.
This is despite the fact that three of the four positive polio cases last year were reported in Kunduz and the other in Ghazni, a figure that UNICEF estimates is a unique opportunity for complete eradication of polio.
Polio is an incurable viral disease that can only be prevented by vaccination. Children with the disease are permanently paralyzed.
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