(Vax-Before-Travel News)
In a significant move to eliminate one of the world’s last remaining polio-endemic threats, the Government of Japan has provided $6.3 million to support polio eradication and strengthen routine immunization services across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.
This 12-month initiative, announced on February 11, 2026, will support the procurement and distribution of oral polio vaccines (OPV) to reach more than 12 million Afghan children.
The novel OPV (nOPV2) has been deployed about 2 billion times in recent years.
Afghanistan is one of only two countries, along with Pakistan, where wild poliovirus type 1 is still circulating, posing a serious risk of paralysis and death to unvaccinated children.
While significant progress has been made, with reported cases dropping sharply in recent years, transmission continues in the country’s high-risk southern regions.
According to official data from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and local health authorities, wild polio cases in Afghanistan decreased from 25 in 2024 to 13 in 2025.
As of early February 2026, no new wild polio cases have been reported in Afghanistan this year.
Globally, the total number of wild polio cases reached around 44 in 2025, comprising 13 in Afghanistan and 31 in Pakistan, a decline from 99 cases the previous year.
This trend highlights the positive impact of ongoing vaccination efforts.
This renewed financial support from Japan reinforces hope that Afghanistan will soon join the list of polio-free nations, thereby protecting future generations of children from this preventable disease.
AloJapan.com