A child receives 2 drops of the oral polio vaccine (OPV). Photo: WHO/S.RamoKabul 30 January 2017 – The Ministry of Public Health, WHO and UNICEF launched today the first polio subnational immunization days campaign of 2017. Over 5.6 million children will be vaccinated against polio in all provinces in the southern and south-eastern regions, most...

26 January 2017 – A team consisting of Afghan and international experts conducted a Joint External Evaluation of Afghanistan’s capacity under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to various public health risks. The evaluation was carried out on 4–7 December 2016 in Kabul by a multidisciplinary...

Nasir gets an injection to treat his leishmaniasis lesions at a WHO-supported treatment centre in Kabul. Photo: WHO/S.RamoKabul 22 January 2017 - Around 20 million Afghans in 21 provinces are at risk of cutaneous leishmaniasis, a tropical disease transmitted by the bite of a sandfly. The disease may also lead to open lesions and disfigurement,...

“I am proud of my job and my family is proud of me too” Kabul 16 January 2017 - Tahera is one of the over 65,000 dedicated frontline workers who are working tirelessly to eradicate polio from Afghanistan. For the past year, she has been working as a volunteer polio vaccinator in Bamyan province, going from house to house in her community to...

A nurse measures the height of a child at a health centre in Kandahar as part of nutrition surveillance. Photo: WHO/S.RamoKabul 15 December 2016 – “Children are the energy for the future of our country,” says Dr. Mohammad Siddiq, head of the paediatrics department at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar province, while he checks on his hospital’s nutrition...

Kabul 5 December 2016 – Over 70 ulama (Islamic scholars) gathered in a conference in Farah province on 26 November to express their support for polio eradication. The Islamic scholars called on all caregivers to vaccinate their children against polio during every vaccination campaign and to cooperate with polio workers, emphasizing that polio is an...

During group work, participants analyzed and discussed samples of broadcast and print reporting on GBV to apply ethical principlesKabul 25 November 2016 – WHO, together with UN Women, UNICEF, UNHCR and UNFPA, conducted a joint training workshop on ethical reporting on gender-based violence (GBV) in Kabul on 16 November 2016. The workshop aimed to...

Polio vaccinators approach a truck to vaccinate children at the Torkham border. Photo: WHO/S.RamoKabul 20 November 2016 - As the number of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan increases, health services are struggling to meet demand. Over 600 000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan this year - in October alone, more than 170 000 Afghan...

Minister of Public Health Dr Ferozuddin Feroz inaugurates the isolation wardKabul 17 November 2016 – The Ministry of Public Health and WHO inaugurated a new isolation ward at Kabul Antani Hospital specializing in infection prevention. The isolation ward will ensure that people suffering from serious infectious diseases can be taken care of...

16 November 2016 – Over 120 Islamic scholars, the ulama, gathered in a conference on 3 November 2016 in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, to express their support for Afghanistan’s polio eradication programme. The ulama highlighted that the polio vaccine was crucial for children’s health, called on all Afghans to cooperate with health workers during...