Some seven million Afghan children under the age of five will be vaccinated against polio in a three-day campaign starting September 5 th . This is a further crucial stage in the efforts to eradicate this crippling disease.

The campaign is being led by the Ministry of Public Health. It is also being supported by the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Forty thousand people are involved in vaccinations and monitoring, working in more than 16,000 teams.

These teams will move from house to house in every community. The aim is to reach all children over a three day period from 5 to 7 September.

•  Returnees from Pakistan 's Tribal Areas climbing

The number of Afghans returning to Afghanistan from refugee camps in Pakistan 's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has risen to 46,339 - the majority of returns have been to the provinces of Paktya, Khost and Nangarhar.

Despite an August 31 st deadline for the camp closures, the government of Pakistan has agreed that the repatriation operation will continue for Afghans who have chosen to return with UNHCR assistance.

During a meeting between the Governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan and UNHCR in Kabul earlier this week, Pakistani authorities reiterate d commitment to the voluntary return of Afghans and said camps for those choosing to relocate have been identified.

As you may know the parties also moved to extend the Tripartite Agreement that regulates the repatriation programme. The extension, from March 2006 to December 2006 will provide Afghans living in Pakistan additional time to return home under the current UNHCR assistance programme.

•  Reintegration and Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG)

There has been a slight rise since last week in the number of former officers and soldiers who have entered the reintegration process. Today that number stands at 60,334.

As of today 9,539 weapons are verified as having been handed in under the Disbanding of Illegal Armed Groups programme, which has been running since early June. A breakdown of the figures shows that 124 candidates handed in weapons [in accordance with the initial stage of DIAG]. The remaining arms have come from 231 other individuals or armed groups.

The Joint Secretariat has agreed to form a Joint Planning Group to create a document that will guide the main phase of DIAG. The document will outline steps, which should be taken in the areas of disbandment operations, development/good governance and public information. The first meeting took place this past Tuesday with a task deadline of 7 to 10 days.

Meanwhile, wok on clearing mine and ammunition stockpiles continues, with 24,058 tons of ordnance having been identified around the country during a survey of 442 caches.

For those interested in the numbers this comprises 565,458 boxes of ammunition and 1,755,487 individual pieces .

13 ammunition caches have been surveyed in the northern region this week containing 2,645 boxes of ammunition and 19,356 individual pieces. The highest concentration has been in Samangan, where more than a third of the ammunition was found [1,039 boxes and 5,566 individual items].

•  UNDP supporting first ever women and children book fair

A book fair for women and children is being held from September 3-13, 2005 at the University of Education in Kabul .

The fair aims at helping in the revival of Afghan culture by encouraging women and children to read more. Fifteen women's NGO's, international organizations as well as the United Nations will be attending.

The 10-day event, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is expected to draw approximately 10,000 visitors.

Members of the media are invited to a press conference this Saturday September 3 rd at 10:30am at the university. Details are on the side table.

Questions & Answers

Question: In terms of the ordnance and weapons that are being handed in, are these still operable, are these outdated? I know that some mines have shelf lives on them. Are you finding new weapons that are being brought into the country from a legacy of other conflicts?

Spokesman: With weapons and ordnance that is being uncovered during these surveys, the majority tends to be unserviceable. Those that are unserviceable are disposed of by two implementing partners, Halo Trust and RONCO. With weapons handed in under DIAG, which are serviceable, these are handed over to the Ministries of Defence and Interior. Essentially they are put into safekeeping.

Question: You mentioned that 124 candidates have decided to hand in weapons. Weren't they supposed to have handed in these weapons before, at the time of their nominations?

Spokesman: I don't have the dates in front of me when these weapons were handed in, however I think what we are dealing here with weapons that were handed in during the period of DIAG in which candidates were allowed to do this [ending July 1].

Question: The last two nights we have had news that bodyguards of the Chief Justice were attacked. There was an encounter between them and the UN protection forces or something. Does that concern you?

Spokesman: I'm not aware of that incident.

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