MoPH confirms four new cases of polio

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said Tuesday that four positive cases of wild Poliovirus have been reported since the beginning of this year in Afghanistan.

According to the Ministry, three cases were recorded in Kunduz province and one in Ghazni.

Jawid Hazhir, a spokesman for the MoPH, stated: “Four positive cases [of poliovirus] were recorded of which three cases were registered in Kunduz province and another positive case was reported in Ghazni province.”

A number of Afghan doctors stated that the Kunduz outbreak was due to insecurity and lack of health care services which resulted in children not being vaccinated.

Earlier this month, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) announced that it would launch the second round of its polio vaccine campaign from 20 to 23 December, targeting 9.9 million children aged 0-59 months.

UNICEF said in a statement that the November 2021 campaign delivered polio vaccinations to 8.5 million children under the age of five, including 2.4 million children who were vaccinated for the first time in over three years.

“We are intensifying efforts to reach the maximum number of children across the country, but we need sustained access to rapidly build immunity against polio, especially in areas we have not been able to reach in the last few years,” said Dr. Dapeng Luo, WHO Representative in Afghanistan.

“The November campaign was a massive leap forward and the upcoming campaign will further strengthen the progress we are making. Six more campaigns are planned for 2022 and we must ensure they are implemented timely and reach all children,” he said.