ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will launch a week-long anti-polio drive from October 13 to 19, during which over 45 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated.
According to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), an additional dose of Vitamin A will also be given to children during the campaign to help strengthen their immune systems.
More than 400,000 trained polio workers will take part in a nationwide campaign to ensure that every eligible child under the age of five receives the polio vaccine.
The NEOC says that over 23 million children in Punjab will be vaccinated, while more than 10.6 million children will be targeted in Sindh.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, around 7.2 million children are expected to receive the vaccine, and in Balochistan, over 2.6 million children will be covered.
In the federal capital, Islamabad, more than 460,000 children will be vaccinated. Meanwhile, over 760,000 children in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and more than 280,000 children in Gilgit-Baltistan will be reached during the campaign.
The NEOC also urged parents to complete the full course of routine immunization for their children to protect them from polio and other preventable diseases.
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Last month, the National Institute of Health confirmed two new cases of poliovirus in the province, bringing the total number of cases in Pakistan this year to 29. Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic.
Efforts to eradicate the disease have been repeatedly hindered by vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and militant attacks targeting vaccination teams. In some high-risk areas, inoculation workers operate under police escort, yet even security personnel have been attacked and killed while on duty.
Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can lead to lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through multiple doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for every child under the age of five, alongside routine immunisations.
Pakistan reported a sharp rise in cases in 2024, recording 74 infections, compared to six in 2023 and just one in 2021.
