LAHORE: The Punjab Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) will launch a polio eradication campaign in 13 districts from Monday (today), November 2, to vaccinate more than 9.3 million children under the age of five against the poliovirus.
This will be the fifth polio vaccination campaign in Punjab this year and the third Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs) campaign, following two National Immunization Days (NIDs) and two earlier SNIDs rounds. These repeated vaccination drives are part of an intensive national strategy to interrupt poliovirus transmission and eradicate polio from Pakistan.
With 2027 widely viewed by public health experts as a potentially decisive year for Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts, extensive vaccination campaigns are also being planned for the coming year, continuing through June, to sustain immunity, close vaccination gaps and prevent the virus from spreading.
During the November campaign, more than 77,000 frontline workers will go door to door to administer polio vaccine drops to children, ensuring that every eligible child is protected against the crippling disease.
According to Punjab EOC Coordinator Khalid Parvaiz, the November campaign will continue for seven days in Lahore, while the remaining 12 districts will observe a four-day campaign.
Lahore has set a target of vaccinating more than 2.285 million children, while 990,000 children will be reached in Rawalpindi. In Multan, the campaign aims to vaccinate more than one million children, while the target for Rahim Yar Khan stands at over 1.142 million.
“Every campaign is an important opportunity to protect children against polio. Parents must ensure that all children under five receive polio drops during every campaign, even if they have been vaccinated in previous rounds,” said Khalid Parvaiz.
He emphasised that polio is an incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis, but timely vaccination can protect children against this preventable illness. He urged parents to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure their children are available when frontline workers visit their homes.
The EOC Coordinator said that follow-up activities would also be undertaken to reach children who may have been missed during the initial household visits. He stressed that no child in any of the targeted districts should be left without vaccination.
He also called upon local leaders, religious scholars and community influencers to play their role in raising awareness about the importance of polio vaccination and encouraging parents to ensure that their children receive the vaccine during the campaign.
“Protecting every child requires collective responsibility. The cooperation of parents and communities, alongside the dedicated efforts of frontline workers, is essential to ensure that no child is left vulnerable to polio,” he added.
The Punjab Emergency Operations Centre is mobilising all available resources and strengthening field-level coordination to ensure the successful implementation of the campaign and protect every child against the poliovirus.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026