The Kabul Tribune (KT) — A new polio vaccination campaign will begin across Afghanistan next week, the Afghanistan Free of Polio initiative said, as health authorities continue efforts to contain the disease.
The campaign is scheduled to begin Monday, Sept. 21, across most of the country, while vaccination activities in the southern zone will start a day later, on Tuesday, the initiative said.
The campaign aims to vaccinate children against polio and prevent further transmission of the highly infectious virus.
The World Health Organization has reported 23 confirmed wild poliovirus cases in Afghanistan so far this year. Four of the cases were reported in the latest update, from Farah, Nuristan, Kunar and Helmand provinces.
Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan remain the world’s only countries where wild poliovirus transmission continues. The WHO says three wild poliovirus cases had been reported in Afghanistan earlier in 2026 before the latest four cases were added.
Health authorities and polio eradication partners continue to urge families to have their children vaccinated, saying repeated immunization is essential to interrupt transmission and eventually eradicate the disease.
