Over 29.3 mln children vaccinated in polio campaign

ISLAMABAD, Oct 07 (APP):The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) has successfully concluded its weeklong Sub-National Polio Vaccination Campaign, vaccinating more than 29.3 million children under five across 113 high-risk districts.

According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), the campaign, conducted from September 21 to 27, deployed more than 273,000 frontline polio workers to administer two drops of oral polio vaccine (OPV) to eligible children through door-to-door visits.

Preliminary data showed that more than 9.07 million children were vaccinated in 11 districts of Punjab, over 10.14 million in 30 districts of Sindh, and more than 7.21 million in 37 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In Balochistan, more than 2.32 million children were vaccinated across 32 districts, while over 443,000 children received the vaccine in Islamabad and more than 140,000 in two districts of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The campaign achieved 100 percent of the target across the covered districts. Of the children initially missed during household visits, targeted revisits and follow-up efforts resulted in 86 percent being vaccinated.

The NEOC said 627,776 children, representing 2.1 percent of the campaign target, remained missed and would require continued follow-up.

The campaign focused particularly on reaching missed, zero-dose and previously missed children, as well as those from mobile, migrant and other high-risk populations.

The campaign was conducted simultaneously with Afghanistan to strengthen coordinated vaccination efforts and reduce the risk of cross-border transmission of polio virus.

The NEOC said Pakistan had reduced paralytic polio cases by 99.8 percent, from an estimated 20,000 cases in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025 and six so far in 2026.

Four of the six polio cases reported this year were from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where security-related access constraints have affected vaccination activities.

The campaign was deferred in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur due to deployment of security personnel for other essential duties. The NEOC, in coordination with relevant authorities, will conduct the campaign in the two districts at a later stage.

The NEOC appreciated the efforts of frontline workers, parents, communities, provincial and district administrations, health departments, law-enforcement agencies, partners and the media for supporting the campaign.

It urged parents and caregivers to ensure that every child under five receives two drops of OPV during every campaign, regardless of the number of previous doses received, and complete the routine immunisation schedule on time.