Kabul, May 27, 2018  A new polio case has been confirmed this week in Shahwalikot district of Kandahar province, bringing the total number of confirmed polio cases in Afghanistan to 8 during 2018. The paralyzed child is a 14-month-old girl in an area where vaccination teams face challenges in accessing the area.  The child has never been...

How do vaccinators ensure that every child is reached?  Microplans guide the activities of polio vaccinators. Credit: Amarkhil/WHO Afghanistan Every child needs to be vaccinated to protect them from poliovirus. To achieve this, detailed plans are prepared for vaccination teams. The aim is to find each child under 5 years of age – in Afghanistan,...

Kabul, 10 May 2018 Delegation and WHO representative in Afghanistan Dr Richard Peeperkorn met HE Minister Feroz in Kabul. Photo: Tuuli HongistoWorld Health Organization (WHO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT) conducted the first assessment of Afghanistan’s readiness to implement cancer...

Kabul, 6 May 2018 – The ministries of Public Health and Education of Afghanistan today jointly inaugurated the second round of National Immunization Days (NIDS) for polio eradication in an event held in a Kabul madrasa (Islamic school). The event was attended by many Islamic religious scholars along with teachers and students.   The nationwide polio...

Dr Rik Peeperkorn visiting Emergency hospital in Lashkargah Photo: Philippe Kropf / OCHA“The lack of peace, insecurity and high level of volatility is on everyone’s mind and the major challenge, not only for all Afghans, but also for WHO and anyone working for development. Access to large parts of the country is limited and a major obstruction...

Expanding access to vaccines crucial for saving lives and sustaining progress in reducing child mortality rates  KABUL, 25 April 2018 –An estimated 160,000 to 200,000 children under one year of age in Afghanistan − one in three – received zero vaccinations last year. These gaps in routine immunization coverage not only put the lives of...

Kabul, April 8, 2018 – A sub-national polio vaccination campaign will be conducted in selected high-risk districts in Afghanistan starting from tomorrow and will last until 13 April 2018. The campaign starts at a critical time. One new polio case has been confirmed last week in Ghazi Abad district of Kunar province – the second case in the...

Emergency, an Italian humanitarian NGO financially supported by WHO, runs a surgical ward in the centre of Kabul. They treat victims of war for free. Programme coordinator Dejan Panic talks about his work. 7 April 2018 – IEmergency Programme coordinator Dejan Panict was a sunny winter day in one of central Kabul’s busiest areas. Buzzing with...

Abu Dhabi, 29 March 2018 -- Afghanistan and Pakistan polio eradication teams are gathering this week in Abu Dhabi to discuss common strategies for the last push required to eradicate polio in the Region. In 2017, Afghanistan and Pakistan were the only two countries globally to record any cases of wild poliovirus transmission, with most cases...

Kabul, March 24, 2018  One new polio case has been confirmed in Khakrez district of Kandahar province, bringing the total number of confirmed polio cases in Afghanistan to 6 during 2018. The case occurred in a 12-month-old boy in an area difficult to access by vaccination teams. The area was inaccessible for nearly 9 months. The child had only...