Over 76pc children in Pakistan now fully vaccinated: EPI

Islamabad : Pakistan has achieved 10% improvement in vaccination coverage for children aged between 12-23 months; 76.1% of children under two years of age have received the full course of recommended vaccination—93% have been immunized with BCG vaccine and 83.6% with Penta 3 antigen, reveals the largest-ever survey of routine immunization coverage across Pakistan.

Of the remaining children, more than 1 in every 6, or 17.7%, have been partially vaccinated while 5.9% of under 2s have never been vaccinated. Findings of the survey were disseminated here Thursday with the PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan, National Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) Dr. Akram Shah, and representatives of partner agencies in attendance.

The survey has highlighted regional disparities in immunization with the following coverage levels: Punjab 89.%, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 88.8%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 68.4%, Sindh 61.1%, and Balochistan 37.6%. The survey provides a picture of progress reported by the provincial EPI against Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLI) under the National Immunization Support Project (NISP).

The survey covered 88,762 clusters, 109,495 households and 110,905 children. The DLI-I of the project was to assess the coverage of fully immunized children aged between 12-23 months in the provinces and federating areas. The results of the survey revealed that Punjab and Balochistan have achieved the third year DLI target of NISP for fully immunized children.

The DLI 3 was meant to report the percentage of districts in each province reporting at least 80% coverage of Penta 3 immunization among children aged between 12-23 months. According to the survey, Punjab and KP achieved their respective targets.

The DLI 8 assessed vaccination cards retention among children under two year in each project province. According to the survey, Punjab and KP have achieved the year four target of NISP vaccination card retention.

The DLI 10 aimed to assess fully immunized coverage among children aged 12-23 months in 10 mega districts of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, KP and Islamabad. According to the survey, 73.5 % children were fully immunized in these districts.

“Vaccines represent a low-cost, high-impact intervention that can raise health standards,” said AKU’s Professor Sajid Soofi, the study’s principal investigator. “Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where diseases such as polio and measles remain endemic; findings from the study will help us take targeted measures in parts of the country facing the greatest threat from vaccine-preventable diseases,” he remarked.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Faisal expressed satisfaction over the survey findings and appreciated the EPI team and partners for completing it in record time. “These findings will help in future planning to overcome existing gaps,” he said. The SAPM also appreciated the role of frontline workers who reached out to children in hard-to-reach areas in challenging weather conditions.

Dr. Akram Shah said, the findings will help inform the government’s efforts to improve internal processes and to identify risks and opportunities that will enable the country to achieve universal immunization coverage.

The survey was conducted by researchers from AKU in partnership with Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments, EPI, the World Health Organization, GAVI the Vaccine Alliance, and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The survey was funded by the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.