پولیو؛ د مرستو کمېدل او د واکسینو په تطبیق کې ستونزې

Coinciding with World Polio Day, the disease has not yet been eradicated in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

World Polio Day, marked annually on October 24, is celebrated worldwide while Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only countries where the disease continues to exist.

At the same time, United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), have reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghan children and continuing efforts to eradicate this disease.

Dr. Sayed Abdullah Ahmadi said: “Recently, the suspension of aid from the World Health Organization and some domestic and international challenges have prevented Afghanistan’s health sector from fully eliminating polio.”

Similarly, several doctors have called on the World Health Organization to increase its support for the fight against polio in Afghanistan.

Another doctor, Sayed Farid Shah Rafie, stated: “There are many problems, one of which is economic. Countries and governments themselves cannot produce and distribute vaccines, so the international community must increase its assistance and help eliminate polio.”

Meanwhile, several residents of Kabul have urged the Ministry of Public Health to launch additional vaccination campaigns in remote areas to completely eradicate the disease.

A Kabul resident, Mohammad Zabih, said: “We ask the government to form mobile health teams that can go door-to-door to vaccinate people.”

Another Kabul resident, Basir, said: “Everyone is responsible for protecting their children and must ensure they are vaccinated to prevent the spread of this disease.”

This comes as Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, recently warned that by 2026, the global budget for the eradication of polio will be reduced by 40 percent, a development that could seriously hinder efforts to combat the disease.