A nationwide campaign to vaccinate nearly 10 million children under the age of five has begun, officials said.
Afghanistan has launched a nationwide campaign to give the polio vaccine to nearly 10 million children under the age of five, the country’s Ministry of Public Health announced.
Some 65,000 health workers will carry out the campaign over five days, public relations officer for the anti-polio campaign Mir Jan Rasikh told DPA news agency Monday.
Last year, 3.4 million children nationwide were vaccinated after the war. As a result, at least 56 African children contracted croup, according to officials.
The Taliban armed group does not allow health care workers in areas under their control to conduct door-to-door operations.
Fighters of the group claim the operation was previously used to gather information in some areas.
On Sunday, Taliban deputy director Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with officials from the World Health Organization and UNICEF for South Asia in Qatar where they discussed the polio vaccine and other infectious diseases, the group.
It was unclear whether the Taliban fighters had agreed to allow a door-to-door campaign in the areas under their control.
Officials warn that a lack of access would prevent the loss of around 3 million children from the vaccine again.
The deadly virus has been eradicated from the rest of the world but is still common in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has launched a similar campaign.