40m children to be immunized against polio in upcoming campaign

Islamabad : Following a four-month suspension necessitated by the COVID-19 outbreak, the first nationwide polio immunization campaign in Pakistan since February will be held from September 21-25, with a cadre of 270,000 vaccinators going door-to-door to immunize 40 million children with polio vaccine.

The campaign coincides with the recent news of Africa being certified as polio-free, making Pakistan and Afghanistan the world’s only remaining strongholds of the virus.

“With Africa being certified polio free, we are also ramping up our efforts to bring us closer to a polio-free Pakistan. We are reviewing our campaign performance, improving our outreach and capacity, and integrating systems and services across our polio and immunization programmes to accrue benefits from their respective opportunities,” shared the PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan.

Earlier in July and August this year, smaller case response campaigns were conducted to vaccinate children in high-risk districts.