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Hospitals should never be a target, WHO reiterates
9 March 2017, Kabul, Afghanistan - WHO condemns yesterday’s brutal attack against Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital, which led to the deaths of at least 30 Afghans, with dozens more injured. We extend our deepest condolences to the victims’ families, friends and colleagues, and hope for a speedy recovery for those injured. The neutrality of medical...
Afghan women leading the battle against polio
Sakina works as a polio campaign supervisor in Bamyan provinceKabul 8 March 2017 - Thousands of remarkable female vaccinators, supervisors, campaign coordinators, surveillance volunteers and social mobilizers play a critical role in Afghanistan’s efforts to eradicate polio. The progress the polio programme has witnessed in the past years would...
5.6 million children to be vaccinated against polio in high-risk areas
A child receives the oral polio vaccine. Photo: WHO/G.ElhamKabul 27 February 2017 - The Ministry of Public Health, together with WHO and UNICEF, launched today the second round of Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs) campaign of 2017 in high-risk areas to vaccinate 5.6 million children under age of 5 against polio. The campaign will be...
Tracing every last virus: Afghanistan steps up surveillance to accelerate polio eradication
Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) focal point Dr Siddiqui examines a child at Mirwais Regional Hospital in Kandahar. Photo: WHO Afghanistan/S.RamoKabul 23 February 2017 – A strong surveillance system is the backbone of Afghanistan’s polio eradication effort. It ensures that every single poliovirus is detected and analysed, enabling a quick and...
Prevention is crucial for tackling Afghanistan’s cancer burden
Kabul 5 February 2017 – New guidance from WHO launched ahead of World Cancer Day (4 February) aims to improve the chances of survival for people living with cancer by ensuring that health services can focus on diagnosing and treating the disease earlier. In Afghanistan, the prioritization of basic, high-impact and low-cost diagnosis and treatment...
Over 5.6 million children to be vaccinated against polio during large-scale vaccination campaign
A child receives 2 drops of the oral polio vaccine (OPV). Photo: WHO/S.RamoKabul 30 January 2017 – The Ministry of Public Health, WHO and UNICEF launched today the first polio subnational immunization days campaign of 2017. Over 5.6 million children will be vaccinated against polio in all provinces in the southern and south-eastern regions, most...
Experts evaluate Afghanistan’s capacity to prevent and respond to serious public health risks
26 January 2017 – A team consisting of Afghan and international experts conducted a Joint External Evaluation of Afghanistan’s capacity under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to various public health risks. The evaluation was carried out on 4–7 December 2016 in Kabul by a multidisciplinary team...
Neglected disease, lasting stigma – Leishmaniasis continues to affect the lives of tens of thousands of Afghans
Nasir gets an injection to treat his leishmaniasis lesions at a WHO-supported treatment centre in Kabul. Photo: WHO/S.RamoKabul 22 January 2017 - Around 20 million Afghans in 21 provinces are at risk of cutaneous leishmaniasis, a tropical disease transmitted by the bite of a sandfly. The disease may also lead to open lesions and disfigurement,...
Tahera works towards a polio-free Afghanistan
“I am proud of my job and my family is proud of me too” Kabul 16 January 2017 - Tahera is one of the over 65,000 dedicated frontline workers who are working tirelessly to eradicate polio from Afghanistan. For the past year, she has been working as a volunteer polio vaccinator in Bamyan province, going from house to house in her community to...
Enhanced nutrition surveillance brings better health for Afghan mothers and babies
A nurse measures the height of a child at a health centre in Kandahar as part of nutrition surveillance. Photo: WHO/S.RamoKabul 15 December 2016 – “Children are the energy for the future of our country,” says Dr. Mohammad Siddiq, head of the paediatrics department at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar province, while he checks on his hospital’s...
