On Monday, November 2, 2026, the Afghan government launched a four‑day anti‑polio vaccination campaign that is set to cover 12.8 million children under the age of five across the country, Xinhua reported. The campaign, announced by the Ministry of Public Health, will involve the administration of polio vaccine drops and the distribution of albendazole tablets to prevent intestinal worm infections.
The announcement appeared on Xinhua’s English-language service and was echoed by the state‑run media outlet, which noted that the goal is to immunise every child under five and address worm infections simultaneously. In his speech at the launch, Minister of Public Health Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali called on Afghan parents to ensure their children receive the vaccine as part of a larger effort to rid the nation of the crippling disease.
According to Xinhua, the campaign is scheduled to run for four days, beginning on Monday, November 2, and continuing through Thursday. This period is intended to allow health workers to reach remote and urban areas alike, according to the state‑run report. The campaign’s scope is unprecedented, mobilising resources to target a staggering 12.8 million children in a single operation.
Albendazole tablets are being given alongside the polio vaccine, a measure that was highlighted in the Xinhua article as a dual‑purpose strategy. The albendazole therapy will help avert worm infections, which frequently afflict children in the region. The supplements are intended to complement the primary polio vaccination by tackling another significant health threat at the same time.
Bakhtar News Agency, Afghanistan’s official news outlet, was cited in the Xinhua piece as the agency that first broke the story of the four‑day campaign. The agency’s report emphasised that the campaign is part of a broader push to eliminate polio nationwide, reinforcing the Ministry of Public Health’s stated objective.
For the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, the campaign represents a significant step toward ending polio. The ministry’s message, as conveyed by RedactorXinhua, is that the vaccination drive is a critical tool in the national programme to achieve disease eradication. The push is aimed at the most vulnerable segment of the population: children under five.
The ministry’s call to parents, as voiced by Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, underlines the importance of community participation. The Minister urged families to bring their children to vaccination sites, stressing that this is a public‑health priority that requires local engagement. Parents are specifically asked to consult with health officials and to follow the schedule of the four‑day campaign to guarantee their children receive the necessary drops.
While Xinhua and the state‑run outlet report these plans, the article does not provide specifics about logistics such as the exact venues, staffing numbers, or the distribution strategy for the albendazole tablets. These details remain unspecified in the available reports, leaving questions about the campaign’s on‑ground execution open to future clarification.
Source analysis from Xinhua suggests that the campaign draws on a concerted effort by Afghan health authorities to eliminate polio and reduce worm infections. The use of a single, intense four‑day period reflects an attempt to compress a large immunisation workload into a manageable timeframe. The emphasis on albendazole indicates a recognition of intertwined health challenges affecting children in Afghanistan.
In summary, the campaign as announced by Xinhua and its linked agencies is a massive public health undertaking. 12.8 million under‑five children are slated for polio vaccination, with additional albendazole tablets distributed to curb worm infections, all within a concise four‑day schedule. The ministry’s message, conveyed by the Minister of Public Health, calls on parents to ensure their children receive the necessary vaccines, highlighting a collective endeavour to eliminate polio from Afghanistan.