Ticks are the main vector of CCHFKabul 7 September 2016 – Health and livestock authorities are concerned about the spread of a serious tick-borne viral disease called the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, World Health Organization (WHO) and...

A child receives the oral polio vaccine in Kabul. Photo: WHO/S.RamoKabul, 29 August 2016 – The Ministry of Public Health, with the suppport of WHO and UNICEF, launched today a national polio immunization campaign to vaccinate every child in Afghanistan under the age of 5. What makes this particular campaign important is that most cases of polio...

“It is our job as health care providers to help survivors” Nurse Arzo took part in the WHO gender-based violence training in Bamyan province. Photo: WHO/S.Ramo Kabul 4 August 2016 – Sarbaland, a man from the Ashkamis district of Takhar province, cut off parts of his pregnant wife’s genitals and beat her so severely that she lost her unborn baby...

Kabul 31 July 2016 – The Ministry of Public Health and WHO marked the World Hepatitis Day in Kabul today to increase awareness of the burden of viral hepatitis, its causes, symptoms and treatment. Viral hepatitis – a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E – causes acute and chronic liver disease and kills around 1.4...

Kabul, 25 July 2016 – The Ministry of Public Health, with the support of WHO and UNICEF, will hold concurrent vaccination campaigns in July and August to vaccinate around 4.3 million children under the age of 5 against polio. These vaccinations are particularly important for children because the months between May and October are Afghanistan’s high...

WHO Representative Dr Richard Peeperkorn delivers his opening remarks at the TAG meetingKabul 17 July 2016 - The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on polio eradication convened in Kabul to review Afghanistan’s progress in polio eradication, provide recommendations for intensifying efforts to stop the circulation of wild poliovirus by the end of...

Mir Yaqoob donated blood in KabulKabul 3 July 2016 - Afghanistan is facing blood shortages during the holy month of Ramadan as fewer people are donating blood. The Ministry of Public Health, with the support of WHO, is organizing blood collection drives in Kabul to ensure sufficient blood supplies in the country’s hospitals. “Before Ramadan...

Zahra works with the polio vaccination teams in Nangarhar province27 June 2016 – Zahra (name changed), a polio campaign monitor from Nangarhar province, is one of the heroes of the polio eradication effort, dedicating her work to ensuring that every child receives 2 drops of the polio vaccine during every single campaign round. Her work is not...

A young girl has her finger marked with ink to show she has received the polio vaccineKabul 16 May 2016 – The Ministry of Public Health, with the support of WHO and UNICEF, launched a national campaign today to vaccinate every child under the age of 5 against polio in Afghanistan. The immunization campaign will run throughout Afghanistan for 4 days...

This World Immunization Week, the global goal of polio eradication is closer than ever, although more needs to be done to deliver a world free from the disease.   Children are vaccinated against polio at the Spinboldak border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Photo credit: WHO/J. Jalali 28 April 2016 – WHO's World Immunization Week 2016 kicked...