ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative Monday launched a week-long polio vaccination campaign to vaccinate over 45 million children in 159 districts countrywide as part of ongoing efforts to protect all children from paralytic polio.
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme (PPEP) announced here that the drive is being led by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) and the partner organisations, adding that besides, the polio vaccine, children will also receive Vitamin A drops to help strengthen their immunity.
Since the launch of the PPEP in 1994, systematic house-to-house polio vaccination campaigns have helped reduce the annual number of polio cases by 99.6 percent, from an estimated 20,000 annual cases to 74 in 2024 to and 29 so far this year.
The NEOC and partners have mobilised over 400,000 trained vaccinators to reach children nationwide and administer polio drops at their doorsteps. The campaign will run from October 13 to 19 across the country and from October 20 to 23 in seven districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
This is the fourth national polio campaign of this year will cover a total of 23.3 million children under five in Punjab, 10.6 million in Sindh, 7.2 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2.6 million in Balochistan, 700,000 children in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while 200,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 400,000 in Islamabad.
The campaign comes at a critical time when poliovirus resurgence has affected 29 children so far this year. Moreover, recent widespread flooding across Pakistan has disrupted sanitation systems, displaced families, and hindered health services for affected populations, increasing the risk of poliovirus transmission due to stagnant water and moving populations.
A nationwide campaign to reach and protect over 45 million children from paralytic polio at this critical time reflects the government’s continued efforts to ensure children’s well-being and its global and national commitment to achieving a polio-free future.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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