In brief
On 2 November 2026, Afghanistan rolled out a four‑day attack against polio, targeting 12.8 million children under five with vaccine drops and albendazole tablets. Minister Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali urged parents to participate while the Ministry of Public Health coordinated the national effort, underscoring a push to eradicate the disease across the country.
On Monday, 2 November 2026, Afghanistan launched a comprehensive four‑day anti‑polio vaccination campaign across the entire country, as reported by the state‑run Bakhtar News Agency and announced by the Ministry of Public Health.
The initiative aims to administer polio vaccine drops to every child under the age of five, a demographic identified by the Ministry as most vulnerable to the crippling virus.
In addition to polio immunisation, each child will receive a tablet of albendazole, a medicine designed to prevent intestinal worm infections that can compromise overall health.
Minister of Public Health Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali addressed the launch, calling on Afghan parents to ensure that their children receive the vaccine as part of a national effort to eliminate polio from the country.
The campaign will cover roughly 12.8 million children, a figure that represents a substantial proportion of Afghanistan’s under‑five population and underscores the scale of the public health push.
The Ministry has urged parents to treat the polio vaccine as a priority, emphasising the importance of complete vaccination series to provide lasting protection against the disease.
Officials highlighted that the integration of albendazole tablets with the polio vaccination schedule will address a dual health threat, tackling both viral and parasitic illnesses in a single program.
The Ministry of Public Health is coordinating this nationwide rollout, signalling a significant investment in public health infrastructure and workforce mobilisation across the country.
While the campaign’s deployment is a four‑day window, the logistical planning behind it reflects months of preparation, ensuring the availability of vaccine drops, albendazole tablets, and trained personnel across remote and urban areas alike.
Officials note that Availing the polio vaccine along with parasite‑preventive medication showcases an integrated approach to child health, a strategy that may have far‑reaching benefits for the broader population as well as for the particular targeting of children under five years.
These efforts form part of Afghanistan’s broader goal to eradicate polio, signalling its commitment to meeting international disease‑elimination standards by ensuring that children receive both immunisation and related preventive care during the same campaign.
By combining the polio vaccine drops with albendazole treatment, the Ministry aims to not only prevent viral outbreaks but also reduce the prevalence of intestinal worm infections that can worsen child health outcomes.
Overall, the four‑day campaign illustrates a strategic mobilisation of resources to meet the challenge of polio elimination, highlighting the Ministry of Public Health’s role in coordinating the delivery of essential vaccines to the largest segment of Afghanistan’s under‑five population.
