A polio vaccination campaign began on Monday in five of the northern provinces of Afghanistan following a nationwide campaign that was kicked off by the Public Health Ministry in cooperation with the World Health Organization.

The provinces are Balkh, Jawzjan, Samangan, Sar-e-Pul and Faryab.

The polio campaign in 28 other provinces of the country began last week.

“The reason for the delay is that there should be a distance of two weeks between one campaign and another campaign,” said Nik Wali Shah Momin, head of the Polio Free Afghanistan.

However, the polio vaccination campaign in Uruzgan is expected to be held next week.

“We call on them to increase these campaigns in those areas where vaccinations have not been implemented over the past year, " said Samiullah, a resident of Uruzgan.

The doctors suggested that increasing public awareness about the polio disease is beneficial besides polio vaccination.

“We should go to the urban and rural areas to draw attention to and focus on the people. We can say that it is possible to root it out 100 percent,” said Rohullah Ameen, a doctor.

Meanwhile, some residents of Kabul called on the Health Ministry to take serious actions to counter the disease in the country.

“The government and the Ministry of Public Health should pay attention in this regard, and they should find the root of how to prevent this disease,” said Munibulhaq, a resident of Kabul.

“We call on the Ministry of Public Health to provide on-time vaccination for all children,” said Mohammad Zahir, a resident of Kabul.

At least five positive cases of polio have been registered in Afghanistan in 2023—all of them in the eastern province of Nangarhar.