Another Polio Drive Begins in Pakistan, Testing State Capacity

News Desk

Islamabad: The government on Monday launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign aimed at immunising millions of children and eliminating the disease, with authorities urging communities to actively support the effort.

The campaign, running from February 2 to 5 in most parts of the country, targets children under the age of five.

In Multan alone, over one million children are expected to be vaccinated during the drive.

Deputy Commissioner Multan Muhammad Nouman Siddique said extensive planning had gone into the campaign, with mobile, transit and fixed teams deployed across districts, alongside special monitoring and field coordination teams.

He stressed that community cooperation was essential for the success of the initiative and appealed to parents to ensure their children receive polio drops.

The deputy commissioner warned that any negligence or misconduct during the campaign would result in strict departmental action.

He added that special teams would vaccinate children at bus stands, railway stations, transit points and other public places, with priority given to children from travelling families.

In Karachi, a seven-day polio immunisation campaign also began on Monday and will continue until February 8. The drive aims to vaccinate more than 2.1 million children across the city.

Arrangements for the campaign were finalised jointly by the city administration, health department and international partners. Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi chaired a meeting with deputy commissioners, health officials and representatives of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to review preparations.

EOC Coordinator Shehryar Gull Memon and Task Force Coordinator Saud Yaqoob said the campaign would be carried out with international support.

More than 22,000 polio workers, supported by 2,700 area in-charges and 267 union council medical officers, have been deployed in Karachi.

For security, Additional Inspector-General of Police Azad Khan said 7,703 security personnel, including women officers, would be assigned to protect vaccination teams across all zones.

Commissioner Naqvi said the campaign was planned in coordination with the EOC, health department, World Health Organization, Gates Foundation, Rotary International and UNICEF, with the goal of achieving 100 per cent coverage.

Meanwhile, a province-wide polio eradication campaign has also begun in Punjab.

The drive will continue for seven days in Lahore and four days in other districts. More than 200,000 workers are participating to vaccinate over 17.8 million children, with a special focus on high-risk districts and displaced populations.

Chief Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Uzma Kardar said the campaign was a national responsibility, emphasising that parental trust and media support were crucial to its success.

Polio Eradication Programme head Adeel Tasawur said Pakistan was in the final phase of polio eradication, noting that five out of six environmental sampling sites in Lahore had recently tested negative.

He said data-driven micro-planning, effective monitoring and community engagement would help ensure that no child is missed during the campaign.

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