ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health authorities have vaccinated more than 19.6 million children during the first three days of an ongoing sub-national anti-polio campaign targeting selected districts across the country, the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) said on Thursday, calling on parents to ensure their children receive the life-saving vaccine.
The seven-day campaign, launched on Monday, aims to immunise 24 million children across 97 targeted districts. Health authorities have urged parents to extend full cooperation to vaccination teams and ensure that all eligible children are administered polio drops.
Polio is a highly contagious and incurable viral disease that can cause permanent paralysis and, in severe cases, death. However, it can be prevented through safe and effective vaccination.
This week, @WHO teams are on the ground supporting the @GovtofPakistan & partners to protect nearly 24 million children from paralytic polio across 97 districts.
Together, we can #EndPolio & secure a healthier future for every child & every family, everywhere. https://t.co/7oMiga8BEH— WHO Pakistan (@WHOPakistan) November 4, 2026
Pakistan has reported eight cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) so far this year, with six cases detected in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two in Sindh. The country remains one of only two countries in the world where the poliovirus is still endemic.
“Over 19.6 million children vaccinated during the first three days of the sub-national polio campaign,” the NEOC said. “The polio vaccination campaign will continue until 8 November across 97 selected districts of the country.”
The statement said more than 200,000 polio workers are conducting door-to-door visits to administer vaccine drops to children across the targeted areas. In Punjab, over 7.5 million children have been vaccinated in 13 districts so far, while 5.659 million children have received the vaccine in 20 districts of Sindh.
ALSO READ: Two Policemen Killed, Four Polio Workers Abducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), vaccination teams have immunised 4,002,000 children across 27 districts. Meanwhile, more than 1.65 million children have been vaccinated in the southwestern province of Balochistan, while 418,000 children have received polio drops in Islamabad, according to the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC).
The campaign has also reached more than 149,000 children in three districts of Gilgit-Baltistan and over 182,000 children in two districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The NEOC reiterated that polio has no cure and emphasised that vaccination remains the only effective way to protect children against the crippling disease.
“Polio workers are coming to your doorstep to protect your children,” the NEOC said. “Cooperate with them, ensure that every child under five years of age receives polio drops during the ongoing polio campaign.”
The ongoing campaign marks Pakistan’s fifth major anti-polio drive of 2026 and its third sub-national campaign, with more than 200,000 frontline health workers mobilised to administer vaccines to children across the targeted districts.
