From 13 October, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) is launching a national anti-polio campaign of one week, with the aim of immunizing more than 45 million children under five years against the paralyzing virus.
According to NEOC, children also receive an extra dose of vitamin A during the campaign to help stimulate their immunity.
More than 400,000 trained polio employees will participate in the ride of one week throughout the country to ensure that every eligible child receives the oral polio vaccine (OOG).
Provincial data that is shared by the NEOC shows that more than 23 million children younger than five are being vaccinated in Punjab, while in Sindh more than 10.6 million children will be the target. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, around 7.2 million children will be covered and more than 2.6 million will receive the vaccine in Balochistan.
In Islamabad, more than 460,000 children polio drops will be administered, while more than 760,000 children will be vaccinated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the campaign wants to reach more than 280,000 children.
The NEOC has encouraged all parents and carers to ensure that every child receives the polio drops younger than five during the national campaign. It also appealed to parents to complete the routine immunization of their children to protect them against polio and other diseases.
The total number of polio cases in the country before 2025 has risen to 29, with two cases reported on September 29 from Sindh.
Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world, together with Afghanistan. The country was close to exterminating the paralyzing disease in 2021 after a significant decrease in the number of cases, until the recent peak in cases.
Last year Pakistan reported a total of 74 polio cases. Of these, 27 came from Balochistan, 23 from Sindh, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one of Punjab and Islamabad.
Polio is a paralyzing disease without healing, and the completion of the routine vaccination for all children younger than five simply offers them high immunity against this terrible disease.
