Pakistan Launches First Nationwide Anti-Polio Campaign of 2026 to Vaccinate 45m children

60,000 Children to Receive Polio Vaccines in Lower South Waziristan

Hamid Khan Wazir

WANA: A special National Immunization Day (NID) polio campaign was launched on Monday in district Lower South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as part of the first nationwide anti-polio drive of the year aimed at consigning the devastating disease to history.

Pakistan is targeting over 45 million children in this campaign, following a sharp decline in polio cases compared to last year, reinforcing the country’s efforts to eradicate the disease for good.

As part of the well-orchestrated campaign in Lower South Waziristan, over 60,000 children under the age of five will receive polio drops, ensuring full coverage and protecting every child from the devastating polio virus.

The four-day campaign has been launched simultaneously across all 36 union councils of the district, with a total of 371 polio teams deployed to carry out door-to-door vaccination and ensure every household is reached.

To ensure safe and uninterrupted access to children, the police and other law enforcement agencies have implemented foolproof security arrangements. The district administration, health department, and partner organizations are working in close coordination to make the campaign a success.               

Officials said the campaign is a vital component of Pakistan’s national polio eradication efforts and will play a key role in preventing the transmission of the polio virus in the district.

On January 29, speaking at a media briefing at the National Coordinator Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) ahead of Pakistan’s first National Polio Vaccination Campaign of 2026, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, vowed to stop polio transmission this year, emphasizing that even a single case remains a threat and that complacency over the reduction in cases is not an option.

It is worth noting that Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where polio remains endemic, posing a continuing risk to global eradication efforts.

However, both international and national experts agree that, despite ongoing challenges, polio eradication in Pakistan and worldwide is within reach. Over the past three decades, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative has successfully reduced annual polio cases by 99.6% — from 20,000 cases to 74 in 2024 and 31 so far in 2025 — demonstrating that vaccines are effective and save lives. In 2025 breakup, Pakistan reported 20 cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Earlier, the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC), in its statement, urged parents to cooperate with polio teams and ensure their children receive polio drops. The virus, which can cause permanent paralysis, has no cure and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination.