Mawlavi Noor Jalal Jalali, Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, held a key meeting with Dr. Hamed Reza Jafari, the regional head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Polio Eradication Program, to discuss ongoing efforts to eliminate polio from the country.

According to the Ministry of Public Health, the meeting focused on the latest WHO activity report, a joint evaluation of existing programs, and strategies for polio eradication. Discussions also covered training healthcare workers to diagnose childhood paralysis and addressing broader public health priorities.

Minister Jalali reaffirmed that eradicating polio in Afghanistan remains one of the ministry’s top priorities. He stressed that the “legacy budget” for polio eradication across the region should be directed toward priority health services, ensuring essential care is available to all citizens and contagious diseases like childhood paralysis are effectively prevented.

The minister also highlighted the importance of high-quality vaccination campaigns and urged WHO officials to devote greater attention to strengthening their effectiveness.

For his part, Dr. Jafari, accompanied by other WHO representatives, pledged full cooperation in supporting Afghanistan’s efforts. He assured the ministry of continued collaboration in implementing vaccination drives and strengthening the polio eradication program in the country.

Despite decades of conflict and instability, Afghanistan remains one of the last two countries in the world where polio is still endemic. Health authorities, supported by international partners, continue to push forward vaccination campaigns in hopes of permanently eradicating the disease. (ILKHA)