The polio vaccination campaign started today (Monday, July 8) in twenty-three provinces.

The Ministry of Public Health said that this campaign will last for four days and nearly eight million children will receive the vaccine.

These provinces include Kabul, Laghman, Nuristan, Kunar, Nangarhar, Kapisa, Parwan, Bamyan, Daikundi, Baghlan, Kunduz, Takhar, Helmand, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan, Zabul, Ghazni, Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Farah, and Herat.

Sharafat Zaman Amarkhel, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, regarding this campaign, said: "In this campaign, nearly eight million children under the age of five will be vaccinated against polio, and it will continue for four days."

Meanwhile, some vaccinators have expressed concern about the lack of full cooperation from citizens in some parts of Kabul.

Sayed Rohullah Ebrahimi, a supervisor of one of the polio vaccination teams, told TOLOnews: "When we evaluate the polio vaccination teams, they unfortunately complain about some families not cooperating with them."

"Our main problem is with families who do not allow it. Many of them refuse," said Farida Hussaini, a supervisor of a polio vaccination team.

"Some of our compatriots refuse to vaccinate their children. They have some false beliefs, and the more we can raise public awareness, the better we can fight the polio virus," said Madad Khan Danishwar, a doctor in Kabul.

Afghanistan, along with Pakistan, are the countries where polio has not been eradicated. 

Some citizens asked the Ministry of Public Health to take serious measures to eradicate this disease.

"Some districts are very far from the cities and are unaware of polio. I ask the government to fully cooperate and raise awareness among those people," Ghulam Rahman, a resident of Nangarhar, told TOLOnews.

Last year in 2023, six positive cases of polio were recorded in the country; however, no positive cases of polio have been recorded so far this year.