CERF supports access to vaccines by unvaccinated children in Afghanistan

Country: Afghanistan Sources: UN Children’s Fund, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Karim, a 38-year-old father of three, has returned to Khashrood District in Afghanistan’s Nimroz Province after 13 years in the Islamic Republic of Iran. During those years of moving from place to place, his children never visited a clinic. They had no vaccination cards and therefore had never been vaccinated against measles, polio, or other deadly diseases. “During our displacement, we moved many times and had no access to clinics. My children never received vaccines and I was worried about their health, ” Karim told the vaccinator at the Targreshk sub-Health Centre in Khashrood District. The experience of Karim’s children is not unique. Across Nimroz, many returning children are considered “zero dose”, meaning they have missed all routine immunizations. This lack of immunization enables outbreaks to spread quickly. Through WHO-supported outreach services, Karim’s children were registered in Afghanistan’s national immunization system for the first time. They received age-appropriate vaccines and vaccination cards, connecting the family to local health services and giving Karim peace of mind. This life-saving work was made possible with timely funding from the OCHA-managed UN Global Emergency Fund (CERF). Read more about how CERF is helping protect children in Afghanistan: https: //www. emro. who. int/afg/afghanistan-news/vaccinating-zero-dose-children-among-returning-families-in-nimroz. html Published April 2026 Pooled Fund impact stories

Read full story on Reliefweb