Pakistan launches polio vaccination drive for 1 million children

Pakistan has launched a four-day polio vaccination campaign targeting more than one million children in high-risk areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The drive, running from August 10 to August 13, aims to reach approximately 1.04 million children across 170 high-risk union councils.

The National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication stated that 753,000 children will be vaccinated in 130 union councils in Rawalpindi, while 289,000 will be reached in 40 union councils in Islamabad. This initiative follows the reporting of three polio cases in 2026, located in the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries where wild poliovirus is endemic. While the country has reduced annual cases by 99.8 percent since 1994, challenges such as vaccine refusal, misinformation, and security threats to health workers continue to impact eradication efforts, particularly in regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.