- National campaign to be conducted from October 13 to 19.
- Inoculation drive to be held in KP from October 20 to 23.
- National tally for 2025 stands at 29; KP worst-hit with 18 cases.
ISLAMABAD: The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) has announced that the nationwide polio immunisation campaign will commence from today (Monday) across 159 districts of the country.
According to the NEOC, during the week-long drive, more than 45.4 million children under the age of five will be administered oral polio vaccine drops.
In addition to the polio vaccine, children will also receive Vitamin A supplements to help boost their immunity.
The national campaign will be conducted from October 13 to 19, while in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the campaign will be held from October 20 to 23, the NEOC said.
Over 400,000 health workers will go door-to-door to ensure that every eligible child receives the vaccine. The NEOC urged parents to ensure that all children under five years of age are vaccinated against polio and that routine immunisation courses for children up to 15 months are completed on time.
The total number of polio cases in the country for 2025 has jumped to 29, with two cases reported on September 29 from Sindh.
Of the total 29 polio cases reported nationwide, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tops the list with 18 cases, Sindh nine, while Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have one each.
The polio eradication campaign is part of country’s ongoing efforts to eliminate the crippling disease and protect every child from lifelong disability.
Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world, along with Afghanistan. The country was near to eradicating the crippling disease in 2021 after significant drop in number of cases, until the recent spike in cases.
Last year, the country reported a total of 74 polio cases. Of these, 27 were from Balochistan, 23 from Sindh, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Polio is a paralysing disease with no cure, and the completion of the routine vaccination for all children under the age of five just provides them with high immunity against this terrible disease.
