A new polio vaccination campaign began across Afghanistan on Monday, September 21, as health workers continue efforts to stop transmission of the virus in one of the last countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic.
Polio Free Afghanistan announced that the campaign would begin across the country on September 21. It said vaccination activities in the southern region would start one day later. The programme urged families and communities to cooperate with vaccination teams so eligible children can receive the vaccine.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects children and can cause irreversible paralysis. Vaccination is the main tool used to prevent infection and interrupt transmission, and repeated doses are used to strengthen children’s immunity in areas where the virus remains a risk.
Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the two countries where wild poliovirus transmission has not been interrupted. Cross-border movement, gaps in vaccination coverage, difficult terrain and access constraints have complicated eradication efforts in both countries. Reaching mobile and border communities is therefore an important part of the wider eradication strategy.
Earlier in 2026, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health and international partners carried out national and sub-national vaccination rounds. In April, the ministry said a nationwide campaign aimed to reach about 12.6 million children under five. The September campaign is a separate new vaccination round.
UNICEF said in February that Japan had provided $6.3 million to support polio eradication and routine immunisation across Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The 12-month initiative was designed to support vaccination efforts reaching more than 12 million children under five. That funding forms part of the broader immunisation programme rather than a single September round.
The latest campaign is another stage in a long-running eradication effort. Its impact will depend on vaccination coverage, surveillance results and the ability of health teams to reach children who may be missed during individual rounds.