This is an important reminder to all parents that polio is a serious health risk and that vaccination during every polio campaign is the only way to protect your child from paralysis.
A team at the national level has been deployed to conduct a detailed investigation and risk assessment of the case and the surrounding area to determine the risk of further spread of the virus.
The next polio campaign will take place in selected high-risk districts including Khakrez from 9-13 April. It is critical that all parents and caregivers across Afghanistan ensure they immunize all children under 5 in every polio campaign. Multiple vaccination is the only way to protect your child.
The polio virus is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease. There is no cure and the polio vaccine is the only safe and effective way to protect children. While there is a child anywhere with polio, all children are at risk of this crippling disease.
The Polio Eradication Initiative is a global public health intervention that aims to eradicate polio worldwide and protect all future generations of children from paralysis.
Currently, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria are the only three remaining polio-endemic countries in the world. Afghanistan is one of only two countries globally where poliovirus continues to circulate in 2018.
For more information please contact:
Merjan Rasekh
Communications Officer,
Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health
+93 0702825101
