Kabul [Afghanistan], June 20 : A total of five instances of polio have been detected in Afghanistan in 2023, according to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Afghanistan.
The Khaama Press is an online news service for Afghanistan.
According to the chief of the UNICEF Polio Eradication Programme in Afghanistan's communications department, Kamal Shah Sayed, the fifth polio case has been reported in the Nangarhar province's Dur Baba region.
"The disease is feared to spread to other parts of the province, and efforts were underway to check it," the official said, as per Khaama Press.
Taliban's Ministry of Public Health earlier this month announced the fourth polio case in the Besud district of Nangarhar province.
According to the Taliban's public health ministry's reports, Nangarhar and the entire eastern portion of the country are under a severe polio threat because of past incidences of the disease in that region and the virus's documented presence in contaminated water and polluted surroundings, Khaama Press reported.
As per the director of the National EOC, Nek Wali Momin, Afghanistan conducted 12 polio immunization campaigns in 2022 alone, making it the highest number of campaigns globally.
Acute hunger and poverty have also contributed to a deterioration of malnutrition conditions among vulnerable children across Afghanistan, facilitating the spread of the poliovirus.
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