Pakistan vaccinates 44mn children in nationwide anti-polio drive

ISLAMABAD: During the present vaccination campaign, the federal government has effectively administered anti-polio drops to more than 44 million children throughout Pakistan in five days.

The current polio vaccine campaign is being carried out concurrently in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC).

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the immunization rate is 99 percent, whereas in Punjab and Sindh, it is 97 percent. Gilgit-Baltistan reached 99 percent, Azad Jammu and Kashmir claimed 100 percent coverage, while the federal capital, Islamabad, reached 99 percent of the goal.

The NEOC further stated that an additional one million children are expected to be vaccinated over the next two days.

Parents have been urged to fully cooperate with polio workers and ensure that all children under the age of five receive polio drops during every campaign.

It is to be noted here that Pakistan have reported at least seven polio cases in 2025 so far as confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health.

Earlier, polio virus has been detected in 25 sewerage samples collected from 20 districts across Pakistan.

According to sources, the latest weekly environmental testing, conducted between March 5 to 19, revealed the presence of Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1) in sewage samples from multiple locations.

The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) for Polio confirmed that sewage samples in three provinces showed signs of contamination. Positive samples were reported from nine districts in Balochistan, six in Punjab, and five in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In Balochistan, the affected districts include Quetta, Kech, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Pishin, Loralai, Dakki, Naseerabad and Osta Muhammad, NEOC stated.