Tajuddin Ivali, the UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, stated that 12 million children received the polio vaccine last year.
Mr. Tajuddin wrote today (Saturday, April 25) on his X account that with this figure, 98% of children were covered.
He further emphasized that over 16 million people received the measles vaccine.
Part of the announcement from the UNICEF representative stated: “1.6 million doses of Pentavalent-3 have been administered.”
Additionally, a few days ago, the Ministry of Public Health of the interim government and international organizations launched the first round of the polio vaccination campaign in 32 provinces for the year 2026.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the countries where polio has not been completely eradicated.
It is worth noting that in 2025, nine positive cases of poliomyelitis were recorded in Afghanistan, but so far this year, no new cases have been reported.
The World Health Organization has also warned that until polio is completely eradicated globally, Afghanistan remains at risk of international virus transmission, and collaboration with global programs and coordination with Pakistan to vaccinate populations in border areas is essential.
This organization has raised concerns about the increased risk of vaccine-derived viruses (cVDPV) in some regions of the world and emphasized that widespread vaccination and continuous monitoring are the only ways to prevent further outbreaks of the disease.
