PESHAWAR, Feb 20 (APP):Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah on Friday said that the provincial government is working in a coordinated and effective manner to achieve the complete eradication of polio.
He said that during the February 2026 polio campaign, a target of vaccinating 6.5 million children across the province was set, against which a 96 percent vaccination coverage was achieved.
While charging a meeting , he added that special efforts were made to reach children who had missed polio drops in previous campaigns, resulting in a significant reduction in missed children as well as refusal cases.
The Chief Secretary noted that the decline in refusal cases reflects increased public awareness and the success of an effective communication strategy adopted by the government and partner organizations.
Shahab Ali Shah further informed that in January 2026, a total of 34 environmental samples were collected from 23 districts of the province, out of which only four samples tested positive for the poliovirus.
He said that continuous vaccination campaigns over the past few months have led to a noticeable decline in the positivity rate of environmental samples, indicating a reduction in the spread of the poliovirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining high-quality vaccination campaigns and ensuring the safety and protection of polio teams to achieve a polio-free province.