Web Desk: Pakistan will vaccinate more than 31 million children under five against polio during a nationwide sub-national campaign scheduled for September 21 to 27, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) said on Tuesday.
The seven-day campaign will cover 115 high-risk districts across Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. More than 273,000 frontline workers will participate in the vaccination drive, with teams focusing particularly on polio hotspots and areas where children remain vulnerable to poliovirus transmission.
The campaign will be synchronized with vaccination activities in Afghanistan as part of coordinated efforts to interrupt poliovirus transmission across the two neighboring countries.
Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq convened health journalists from across Pakistan at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) ahead of the campaign.
PEI officials and technical experts briefed the journalists on campaign preparations, surveillance data and measures being taken to ensure that every eligible child is reached.
Pakistan has reported four confirmed cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in 2026, including three cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Sindh. Continued detection of poliovirus through acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and environmental surveillance has highlighted the need for high vaccination coverage, effective surveillance and rapid response.
The September campaign is aimed at strengthening population immunity and closing vaccination gaps in high-risk areas. Health authorities have also stressed that children should receive both polio vaccination and routine immunization.
Oral polio vaccine (OPV) administered during campaigns provides additional protection against poliovirus, while routine immunization protects children from a range of other vaccine-preventable diseases. The PEI and Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) are working together to identify and vaccinate children who remain incompletely immunized.
“The September campaign is an important opportunity to reach more than 31 million children in high-risk areas and strengthen population immunity against poliovirus,” Ayesha Raza Farooq said.
She urged parents and caregivers to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that every child under five receives polio drops during the campaign, even if the child has been vaccinated in previous rounds.
Health journalists also visited the Polio Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where they were briefed on poliovirus testing, environmental surveillance and laboratory procedures used to support programme decisions and guide responses to detected infections.
The PEI urged parents, caregivers and communities to support frontline vaccination teams and ensure that every eligible child receives the polio vaccine during the September campaign, stressing that repeated vaccination remains essential to protecting children and achieving a polio-free Pakistan.
