ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to begin its final nationwide anti-polio campaign for 2025 from tomorrow, Monday, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre, as reported.
The seven-day campaign will run until December 21 and aims to administer polio drops to more than 45 million children nationwide.
In Punjab, more than 23 million children are expected to be vaccinated, while Sindh plans to cover over 10.6 million children. The drive will target more than 7.2 million children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and over 2.6 million in Balochistan.
In the federal capital, polio drops will be given to more than 460,000 children. Gilgit-Baltistan is set to vaccinate over 228,000 children, while more than 760,000 children in Azad Jammu and Kashmir will be covered.
The National EOC said that over 400,000 male and female polio workers will take part in the campaign. Stressing the need for collective effort, the centre said protecting children from polio is a shared national responsibility and urged parents to cooperate fully with vaccination teams to safeguard the country’s future.
Earlier reports, citing sources, said the nationwide anti-polio drive held in October did not meet its targets. The campaign, which ran from October 13 to 19, aimed to vaccinate more than 45 million children.
However, 1,096,525 children missed vaccination, including 721,296 who were unavailable at the time. In addition, 53,621 cases of vaccine refusal were reported during that drive.