Kabul, Jan 21 (IANS) The Afghan Public Health Ministry on Monday launched a polio vaccination campaign in 179 high-risk districts.

The campaign will cover 5.4 million children under five years, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.

The campaign will continue till January 25 in the west, central and southeast regions and from January 28 to February 1 in the south and the east regions.

The ongoing insurgency and conflicts have been hindering government efforts to curb the infectious disease in the war-torn country as more than 20 polio cases were detected in 2018.

--IANS ksk/mr