- 0.4 million polio workers will be deployed in all 143 districts of the country.
- 609 teams to administer 0.14 million polio drops to children in North Waziristan.
- Parents are “invited” to vaccinate their children against a debilitating disease.
A week-long national anti-polio campaign officially began today (Monday) with the aim of administering the vaccine against the crippling disease to an estimated 44,000,000 children across the country, after the annual number of poliovirus cases reached 63.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday announced the launch of an anti-polio campaign by administering drops to children in Islamabad.
Addressing the launching ceremony, he expressed his commitment to eradicate poliovirus from Pakistan with the help of provincial governments and international partners.
About 400,000 polio workers in 143 districts across the country will visit every household to administer polio drops to children under five, according to the Prime Minister’s polio eradication official Ayesha Raza Farooq.
She asked parents to open their doors and fully cooperate with polio teams in this campaign.
Launching the vaccination drive in Sindh, the provincial health department on Monday said the seven-day anti-polio drive would last till December 22, during which around 16 million children would be administered anti-polio drops .
The health ministry said 80,000 frontline workers would go door-to-door to vaccinate children, while 15,000 security guards would accompany them for their protection.
Out of 63 polio cases in Pakistan this year, 17 were reported from Sindh.
“Parents are advised to vaccinate their children against polio. Repeated polio vaccination strengthens children’s immunity,” the document said. The Health Ministry also urged parents to contact the hotline number 1166 if a child forgets to get vaccinated.
“Polio still exists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Therefore, media, community leaders and religious scholars are urged to support the campaign,” it added.
On the other hand, Bahawalpur district aims to achieve its target of administering polio drops to over 0.82 million children below five years in five days till December 20 with the help of 3 276 mobile teams, 195 fixed teams and 136 transit teams, said an official of the district health authority. » said Dr. Amir Bashir.
Deputy Commissioner of Vehari district said they had set the target of administering polio drops to over 0.64 million children in five days with the help of 2,374 teams.
Whereas, 609 teams will administer polio to more than 0.14 million children in North Waziristan and 2,023 police officers will provide security for this campaign, said North Waziristan Deputy Commissioner.
The Gujrat DC said teams comprising 5,169 officials would administer polio drops to over 0.51 million children in Gujrat.
Launching the anti-polio campaign yesterday, Prime Minister Shehbaz urged parents to ensure vaccination of their children to protect them from the viral disease.
He welcomed international partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, founded by Bill Gates, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Saudi Arabia, who have helped Pakistan in the war against polio.
Poliovirus, a highly contagious viral disease, mainly affects children under five years of age, especially those with weak immunity or inadequate vaccination.
The disease invades the nervous system and causes paralysis and even death. Although there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children against this debilitating disease.
Pakistan is one of the last two countries where polio is still endemic in the world, along with Afghanistan, and the number of annual cases has declined significantly in the country, until the recent surge in cases.
The country’s rigorous efforts towards polio eradication face significant challenges, particularly in areas where insecurity, misinformation and parental refusals hamper vaccination campaigns.
With more than 60% of children affected by polio in 2024 not receiving routine immunization, health authorities created a high-level committee to improve coordination between the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI ) and the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).
Balochistan remains the worst-affected province in the recent outbreak of the disease, with 26 cases reported so far this year.