Qatar Red Crescent Society on Saturday signed an agreement with the Afghan Red Crescent Society for the treatment of 169 children suffering from congenital heart defects.

The agreement was signed by Mohammad Saleh Ibrahim, Director of Relief and International Development Division at Qatar Red Crescent Society, and Matiulhaq Khalis, the acting head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

At the signing ceremony, Khalis appreciated the continuous support of the Qatar Red Crescent Society.

In the past two years, the Afghan Red Crescent Society has referred 3,094 children suffering from congenital heart defects to local hospitals for treatment.

Thousands of other children suffering from the disease are waiting for treatment.

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.