Islamabad – April 21, 2025:
A week-long nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign has officially kicked off across Pakistan, aiming to immunize millions of children under the age of five against the crippling poliovirus. The drive, spearheaded by the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in collaboration with provincial governments and international health partners, will continue for seven days, covering urban centers, rural regions, and high-risk areas.
The campaign targets approximately 44 million children, with over 300,000 frontline health workers mobilized to administer oral polio vaccine (OPV) drops door-to-door. In addition to urban outreach, special focus is being placed on remote and hard-to-reach areas, as well as regions with historically low vaccination coverage.
Health officials have emphasized the importance of this campaign in the backdrop of recent detections of wild poliovirus in environmental samples collected from certain parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. The government is working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF to ensure thorough monitoring, high coverage, and strict security measures for vaccination teams.
Federal Minister for Health Dr. Nadeem Jan highlighted that polio eradication remains a national priority, and the government is committed to protecting every child from preventable diseases. He urged parents to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that no child is left unvaccinated.
Pakistan remains one of the last two countries in the world where polio is still endemic. Health experts believe that consistent national efforts like this campaign are critical to achieving the goal of a polio-free Pakistan.
