A new polio vaccination campaign will begin Monday across parts of five Afghan provinces as health authorities step up efforts to prevent the spread of the virus following reports of new cases.

Polio-Free Afghanistan said on Sunday that the campaign will cover all of Nangarhar, seven districts of Kunar, six districts of Kabul, two districts of Herat and two districts of Farah.

The campaign aims to vaccinate children against polio and prevent further transmission of the highly infectious virus.

The campaign comes after a new polio case was reported in Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province. The World Health Organization has previously reported that 15 polio cases have been confirmed in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2026.

Polio can cause permanent paralysis, particularly among young children. Health experts say repeated vaccination remains the most effective way to protect children and prevent the virus from spreading in communities where transmission continues.

Afghanistan and Pakistan remain among the last countries where wild poliovirus transmission persists. Cross-border movement between the two countries has also made vaccination and disease surveillance particularly important.

Polio-Free Afghanistan has urged families to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that eligible children receive the polio vaccine to help prevent further spread of the disease.

Nearly one in 10 Afghan children under five is suffering from acute malnutrition as funding cuts force the closure or suspension of hundreds of health facilities, Save the Children said in a statement this week.

The organisation said wasting worsened in two-thirds of Afghanistan’s provinces in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year. Acute malnutrition among children under five has risen by 14% over four years, affecting an estimated 3.7 million children this year.

At the same time, humanitarian funding has fallen by almost 70%, from $3.27 billion in 2022 to $1 billion in 2025. Only $438 million has been secured so far in 2026, leaving a 74% funding gap.

Save the Children said nearly 600 health facilities have closed or suspended services because of funding cuts, affecting around four million people, half of them children.

About 700,000 people, including 140,000 children under five, have lost access to primary healthcare since Save the Children-supported facilities and mobile teams were closed or scaled back because of funding shortages since early 2025.

In a remote mountainous area of northern Afghanistan, the organisation runs the only healthcare facility serving around 10,000 people. The clinic sees more than 100 patients a day, with some walking two to three hours for treatment.

Save the Children said residents who cannot afford the roughly $60 journey to the nearest city hospital would face a seven-hour walk if the clinic closes.

The organisation has kept 14 clinics operating through short-term funding but warned that their future remains uncertain.

Ashish Damle, Save the Children’s country director in Afghanistan, said worsening hunger, mass returns from Iran and Pakistan, displacement, disasters, conflict and prolonged drought were placing humanitarian resources under severe pressure.

“The world cannot look away,” Damle said, warning that poverty, water shortages, illness and declining household incomes were also increasing child labour and disrupting education.

Save the Children said Afghanistan’s population has grown by up to 12% since September 2023, while more than six million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan amid tighter policies affecting Afghan nationals.

The organisation, which has worked in Afghanistan since 1976, currently operates programmes in nine provinces and works with partners in another 11.

Last year, it reached more than two million people, including nearly 5,000 children treated for severe acute malnutrition and 1.4 million people who received outpatient consultations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that declining international humanitarian funding is disrupting healthcare services across Afghanistan, forcing some health facilities to close and limiting access to essential medical care.

Speaking to Ariana News, WHO Representative in Afghanistan Edwin Ceniza Salvador said cuts in humanitarian assistance have placed the country’s health sector under increasing pressure, with many healthcare centers struggling to remain operational.

He said the funding shortfall is largely due to the growing number of humanitarian crises around the world, which have diverted international financial resources away from Afghanistan.

Salvador stressed that while continued humanitarian support remains essential, Afghanistan must also increase domestic investment in healthcare to build a more sustainable system.

“We have unfortunately seen a decline in global humanitarian funding in recent months because new emergencies have emerged in different parts of the world,” Salvador said. “As a result, many health facilities in Afghanistan are facing difficulties, and some have been forced to close. Alongside continued humanitarian support, greater domestic investment and increased funding for the health sector are essential.”

He noted that Afghanistan continues to face the effects of years of conflict, natural disasters and drought, making humanitarian assistance a critical lifeline for millions of people.

Despite the funding challenges, Salvador said the country has made progress in key health indicators, including increased childhood vaccination coverage and a decline in maternal mortality. However, he said expanding access to healthcare will require broader cooperation across government institutions and development partners.

The WHO warning comes amid growing concern from UN agencies over shrinking humanitarian funding for Afghanistan. Aid organizations have warned that reduced international assistance, coupled with the return of millions of Afghan migrants and the increasing impact of natural disasters, could further strain the country’s already fragile healthcare system and deepen the humanitarian crisis.