Afghanistan launched a polio vaccination campaign on Monday aimed at protecting around 10.72 million children under the age of 5, the Health Ministry announced.

The four-day campaign will cover 31 of the country’s 34 provinces.

Vaccinations in Ghor, Daikundi and Bamiyan provinces will be implemented later due to recent rains and cold weather, the ministry said in a statement.

“Together with our partners, we are committed to eradicating polio from Afghanistan,” said Dr Qalandar Ebad, the acting minister of public health.

“We will work tirelessly and continue polio vaccination campaigns and complementary health services until we reach the goal of fully eradicating polio.”

The ministry urged religious scholars and local elders to cooperate with vaccine providers to fight polio, a debilitating disease that can lead to paralysis and death.

In December, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the repatriation of migrants from neighboring Pakistan has increased the risk of spreading the virus. Since then, Afghanistan has conducted at least three rounds of nationwide vaccinations.

Vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan often face challenges due to conspiracy theories that polio vaccines cause infertility or that vaccinators are spies.

Acting Minister of Public Health Qalandar Ebad, in a meeting with Azerbaijan’s ambassador, Ilham Mohammadov, called for the country’s assistance in improving the capacity of Afghanistan’s health workers.

The two sides also discussed cooperation in the health sector, capacity building of Afghan health workers, and Azerbaijan’s role in the health sector and other issues, according to a statement released by the Public Health Ministry.

Azerbaijan’s envoy said that his country seeks to cooperate with Afghanistan in a sustainable manner in the field of health.

In other news, the foundation stone for the construction of oxygen production facility was laid at the Indira Gandhi children hospital in Kabul.

Officials of the Ministry of Public Health said that the facility will be built with the financial and technical assistance of the World Health Organization, and with the capacity to produce 200 cylinders of oxygen daily to meet not only the needs of the hospital, but also other health facilities.

Balkh Public Health Department officials say there has been a significant increase in the number of patients with cancer in the province.

“In 1401, about 2,613 OPD (out patient department) cases were registered with us. In 1402, these figures were 4,912 cases,” said Ehsanullah Kaliwal, the head of the oncology department at Balkh Regional Hospital.

Some doctors say genetic factors, environmental pollution, arbitrary use of medicines, and excessive consumption of meat were reasons for the sharp increase.

One doctor said cancer was also hereditry.

However, a large percentage of cancer patients in Balkh have stomach cancer. Many of them have appealed for the government to improve treatment facilities.

According to health officials, in the first month of this solar year (April), 423 cancer patients visited this hospital for treatment.