Pakistan Polio Vaccination Drive Starts November 2 in 97 Districts, Targeting More Than 23.9 Million Children
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s next big polio vaccination drive begins on November 2. The National Emergency Operations Center said on Monday that the week-long campaign will run in 97 selected districts and aims to give polio drops to more than 23.9 million children under the age of five. Teams will go door to door until November 8.
Where the children are
Punjab accounts for the largest share, with more than 9.278 million children in 13 districts, followed by Sindh with 6.883 million in 20 districts and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 4.808 million in 27 districts. In Balochistan, more than 2.217 million children will be covered across 31 districts. Islamabad adds over 447,000 children, Gilgit-Baltistan over 153,000 in three districts and Azad Jammu and Kashmir over 183,000 in two districts.
Six cases this year, and a familiar warning
Pakistan has reported six wild poliovirus type 1 cases so far this year, four of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It remains, with Afghanistan, one of only two countries where polio is still endemic. Last month’s nationwide round reached 29.3 million children. “Providing children with a polio-free future is our shared national responsibility,” the center said, urging parents to cooperate fully with the teams so that no child is missed.
