UNICEF Afghanistan has highlighted the importance of continued national efforts to eradicate polio and vaccinate every child, as the country marks World Polio Day on October 24.

In a message posted on X, UNICEF Afghanistan said the day provides an opportunity to highlight national efforts towards a polio-free Afghanistan and honour frontline workers who work tirelessly to end the disease and ensure every child is vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Polio-Free initiative warned on Thursday, October 22, that the presence of the poliovirus in any area could threaten the health of children across the country. The initiative urged the public to cooperate with vaccination campaigns and ensure that no child is left without the vaccine.

The warning comes as polio remains a public health concern in Afghanistan, with the United Nations reporting multiple cases of the disease. According to the World Health Organization, 42 cases of wild poliovirus type 1 have been recorded in Afghanistan this year, while six cases have been reported in neighbouring Pakistan.

Afghanistan could receive up to 800 megawatts of electricity through the planned 500-kilovolt Kerki–Kabul transmission line, according to a Turkmen energy official, as Turkmenistan advances cross-border power projects aimed at expanding electricity supplies and regional energy cooperation.

According to News Central Asia, Murat Artykov, director of the Department for International Power Engineering Projects along the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan route at Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Energy, made the remarks at the international conference “Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan 2026” in Ashgabat.

Artykov said the Kerki–Kabul transmission line will extend 711 kilometres. Construction of the Sheberghan–Dasht-e-Alvan section is expected to be completed in the coming months, while the section connecting the Dasht-e-Alvan substation to the Arghandi substation in Kabul Province is scheduled to become operational in June 2027.

Turkmenistan is also developing infrastructure under the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan (TAP) power transmission project. Artykov said a 259-kilometre, double-circuit 220-kilovolt transmission line from the Mary State Power Plant to the Afghan border was completed in August 2021 and is ready to be connected to Afghanistan’s power system.

Another key development was the commissioning of the Nur ul-Jihad substation in Herat Province on September 11, 2024. According to Artykov, the facility doubled the volume of electricity supplied from Turkmenistan to the province.

Plans also include installing a 200-megavolt-ampere synchronous compensator at the Nur ul-Jihad substation and constructing an 80-kilometre, 220-kilovolt transmission line connecting the Pul-e-Hashemi, Nur ul-Jihad and 24 Hoot substations in Herat.

Artykov said more than 50 documents have been signed between the countries involved and investors in connection with the TAP project. A roadmap for further work in Afghanistan is expected to be agreed upon by the energy ministries of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

He added that expanding cross-border electricity infrastructure is intended not only to increase power supplies but also to support industrial development, strengthen social infrastructure and improve living standards across the region.

The United Nations has warned that hunger and malnutrition in Afghanistan are deteriorating rapidly, with more than 19.2 million people projected to face acute food insecurity.

Speaking at the UN Secretary-General’s noon briefing on Thursday, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric cited projections from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), saying five million people are expected to face emergency levels of hunger.

Dujarric added that an estimated four million children and 1.3 million mothers are projected to suffer from malnutrition.

He said approximately one-third of Afghanistan’s health facilities, including 815 malnutrition treatment clinics, are either closed or suspended, further restricting access to essential health and nutrition services for women and children.

According to Dujarric, the World Food Programme (WFP) continues to provide food assistance, nutrition support and resilience programmes for vulnerable communities. However, funding shortages forced the agency to halt some food assistance in June to preserve limited resources for the winter, when hunger is expected to peak.

He said WFP is preparing its winter response, but current funding will allow it to assist only one million of the five million people requiring support.

Dujarric stressed that WFP needs $545 million over the next six months to respond to the rapidly worsening crisis.

The warning comes as Afghanistan faces mounting humanitarian challenges, with millions of people at risk of severe hunger and access to essential nutrition services increasingly constrained.