ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched a week-long anti-polio vaccination campaign in 79 “high-risk” districts across the country, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), with health authorities aiming to reach 19 million children.
The vaccination campaign takes place almost two weeks after Pakistan reported two new polio cases. Health authorities confirmed both cases in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on May 1.
Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis and, in some cases, death, but can be prevented through repeated doses of oral vaccines. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries worldwide where the disease is still endemic.
“To ensure the complete eradication of the poliovirus and a safe future for every child, it is essential that, alongside routine immunizations, every child receives two drops of the polio vaccine during each campaign,” the NEOC said on Sunday.
“Together, we can ensure every child is reached, protected, and able to grow up free from the threat of polio.”
More than 160,000 polio workers will partake in the door-to-door vaccination campaign, which will continue until May 24.
The drive will take place in 10 districts of Punjab, where around 6.19 million children will receive polio drops and in 20 districts of Sindh, where 5.79 million children will be vaccinated, according to the NEOC.
In KP, health workers will conduct the campaign in 23 districts to vaccinate 4.61 million children while in Balochistan, 1.99 million children will receive polio drops in 25 targeted districts. Pakistan aims to vaccinate around 450,000 children in Islamabad during the drive.
“Welcome the polio teams and help keep your children safe from polio,” the NEOC said last week. “Parents are requested to ensure that all children under 5 years of age receive polio drops.
