After years of being displaced, families returning to Khashrood District in Nimroz Province are coming home with children who have never received a single vaccine dose.

Karim, a 38-year-old father of three, has returned to Afghanistan 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 and put entire communities at risk.

However, in December 2025, everything changed for Karim’s family.