ISLAMABAD: The government is set to launch a week-long nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign today (Monday) to immunize over 45 million children under the age of five, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) announced on Sunday.
The campaign comes amid a resurgence of the polio virus, with health authorities reporting 29 confirmed cases this year, according to the country’s polio programme.
The nationwide vaccination drive will commence on October 13 in 159 districts and will continue until October 19. In southern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the campaign will be held from October 20 to 23. Over 400,000 trained polio workers will be deployed across the country to go door-to-door to administer the anti-polio vaccine.
The NEOC, in a statement, added that children will also receive additional doses of vitamin A during the campaign to help strengthen their immunity.
“Parents are urged to ensure that all children up to the age of five receive the polio drops,” the statement emphasized.
Polio remains a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause permanent paralysis. The only effective protection is the timely administration of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), which requires repeated doses for every child under five during each campaign, alongside the completion of routine immunizations.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic. In 2024, Pakistan recorded 74 polio cases, a sharp increase from just six in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Efforts to eradicate the poliovirus in Pakistan have faced significant challenges, including parental refusals, misinformation, and repeated attacks on polio vaccination teams by militant groups.
In many remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams operate under police protection, though security personnel have also been targeted in these attacks.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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