The country’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has rejected recent media reports on polio cases in Afghanistan particularly, Nangarhar province. A spokesperson to the country’s ministry of public health has considered media reports on cases of polio in Nangarhar as baseless and irresponsible.
“Recent reports of local media outlets particularly Tolonews in connection with recording of polio cases in Nangarhar are bases and irresponsible,” said Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesperson of the ministry of public health.
He said no polio cases have been recorded in Nangarhar in the past one year, asking the local media outlets to be careful in broadcasting and publishing their reports.
In 2022, nine rounds of polio vaccination campaigns including six national and three regional were carried out this year. Afghanistan is now closer to polio eradication than ever before.
According to the MoPH statement, this year, to date, two polio cases, one in Paktika and one in Kunar, have been reported. This is a significant reduction compared to 56 polio cases in 2020 and four cases in 2021.
Meanwhile, the ministry of public health’s spokesperson by pointing to increasing cases of measles among children told The Kabul Times correspondent that 382 children suffering from measles have lost their lives since the start of 2022.
“There had been no real and effective coverage of measles vaccination in the previous government. Since the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, 75,000 suspicious cases of measles have been reported, while a small number of measles-positive cases have been registered,” Zaman said.
He added that three campaigns of measles vaccinations have been implemented since the start of 2022 covering 7 million mission children.
Samiullah Momand
MoPH rejects media reports on polio cases in Afghanistan
