The Ministry of Public Health announced that a nationwide polio vaccination campaign started today (Monday) in all provinces of the country.

It is expected that 11.2 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated in this four-day campaign.

Sharafat Zaman Amarkhail, the spokesman of the ministry, told TOLOnews: “In this campaign, 11.2 million children will be vaccinated, and it will continue for four days. The Ministry of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate is trying to prevent polio; for this purpose, main and supplementary campaigns have been organized over the past two years.”

Some citizens of the country urged the Ministry of Public Health to take serious steps towards eradicating this disease from the country.
“These processes should be increased in villages. They should be increased in districts and provinces,” said Mir Masjidi, a resident of Kabul.

“We want this vaccine to reach all districts and places that have not been reached in the past twenty years,” Shah Mohammad, a resident of Uruzgan, told TOLOnews.

Some vaccinators in Kabul said family cooperation is beneficial for vaccinating children and eradicating polio.

“Public cooperation is urgently needed for polio vaccination. Afghanistan is very close to eradicating polio. So it would be great if the people of Afghanistan cooperate with the polio vaccination teams,” Rohullah Ebrahimi, a vaccinator, told TOLOnews.

“Our dear citizens should be aware that the vaccine not only does not harm our children; but it can save our children from various contagious and viral diseases,” said Zabihullah, a doctor.

Since the beginning of this year, no positive cases of polio have been recorded in the country; while last year, six positive cases of this disease were registered in the country.