Anti-polio drive kicks off across Pakistan

A sub-national immunization campaign has been launched in selected districts of all provinces with the aim to vaccinate approximately 23 million children.

The campaign will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will be conducted from May 15 to May 19 in 12 districts of Punjab including Islamabad; 18 districts of Balochistan and 17 districts of Sindh.

The second phase will be conducted from May 22 to May 26 in 22 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and from May 29 to June 5 in the 7 districts of Southern K-P and Quetta.

Approximately 100,000 trained and dedicated “Sehat Muhafiz” will be engaged in the vaccination drive to inoculate the targeted children at their doorstep.

“I urge all parents and caregivers to ensure the vaccination of eligible children during the campaign to save them from the debilitating disease. Polio is incurable, and vaccines can protect our children,” aid Federal Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel.

“The frontline health workers have been playing a vital role in keeping our children safe from the debilitating effects of polio. Despite facing many challenges, they have been working tirelessly. We recognise the important contributions of the health workers to achieve the goal of polio eradication. "

“Let’s work together and play our part to protect our children from vaccine-preventable disease. I particularly urge all parents and caregivers to get their children vaccinated instead of hiding them or refusing to take the necessary drops during all vaccination drives.

“It is important to realise that the polio virus still exists in our surroundings, and no child is safe until all children are truly vaccinated,” said National Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator Dr Shahzad Baig.

Also read: Nine Balochistan districts start anti-polio drives

The Sehat Tahafuz Helpline 1166 and 24/7 WhatsApp Helpline 0346-777-65-46 will be available to assist parents and caregivers in reporting missed children. Repeated polio vaccination campaigns are imperative for building immunity among children and preventing lifelong paralysis.

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that mainly affects children under the age of five. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the only effective way to protect our children from the crippling disease.

Every time children under the age of five get the polio vaccine, they are more protected. Such repeated immunizations have protected millions of children from polio and made most of the countries around the world polio free.

A senior Unicef official said in December 2022 the polio programme in Pakistan was back on track and hoped that the crippling disease would be eradicated from the country by the end of 2023 following effective measures taken to check its spread.

“We are using all available resources and services at our disposal to reach every girl and boy in Pakistan with lifesaving vaccines and protect them against the entirely preventable disease,” said Regional Director for South Asia George Laryea-Adjei in an exclusive interview with APP.