Massive Polio Vaccination Drive to Target Over 9.5 Million Children Across Pakistan

Islamabad: Starting July 1, Pakistan will launch a substantial polio vaccination campaign aimed at immunizing more than 9.5 million children under the age of five against the paralytic disease. This nationwide initiative will span 41 districts, including key regions in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh, Punjab, and Islamabad, and is set to run until July 7.

According to Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, the campaign responds to recent polio cases in Balochistan and the detection of the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in sewage samples from over 40 districts. The effort will include comprehensive coverage in 41 districts, with partial coverage in 11 districts, targeting areas where the risk of virus transmission is highest.

Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio, Ayesha Raza Farooq, has made a nationwide appeal to parents, stressing the importance of participating in all polio vaccination drives to safeguard children from the disabling effects of the disease. “Keeping children safe from polio and driving this virus out of the country is the government’s top priority,” Farooq stated. She emphasized the convenience of the house-to-house campaign, especially in districts where the virus remains active, urging families to welcome health workers into their homes for child vaccinations.

Muhammad Anwarul Haq, Coordinator for the National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication, highlighted the urgency of this campaign. “The Polio Programme has conducted five vaccination campaigns this year to boost children’s immunity. With the virus still present in many districts, it is crucial for parents to ensure their children are vaccinated during each campaign, considering it a national duty,” he explained.

This campaign is part of a broader effort to eradicate polio, which continues to pose a threat in Pakistan, one of the last two countries where the disease is still endemic.

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