Pakistan has launched a week-long nationwide polio eradication drive from September 1–7, 2025, targeting more than 28 million children under the age of five across 99 districts The campaign, led by the National Emergency Operations Center will deploy over 240,000 trained health workers for door-to-door vaccination. The initiative covers children in Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir while the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will begin the campaign on September 15 due to logistical challenges. The government and international partners emphasise that vaccination is the most effective safeguard against lifelong disability caused by the poliovirus. So far in 2025, Pakistan has reported 21 confirmed cases of polio13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan Health officials stress that continuous vaccination is essential to protect vulnerable children, interrupt virus transmission, and bring Pakistan closer to finally eradicating polio.
Artisan Times
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