On Monday, Pakistan launched a sub‑national polio vaccination campaign aimed at immunising about 24 million children under five in 97 selected districts, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC). The drive will run until Nov. 8 and will involve more than 200,000 frontline workers conducting door‑to‑door inoculations.
NEOC officials emphasised that repeated doses strengthen children’s immunity against the disease and urged parents to cooperate fully with vaccination teams. The launch coincided with the start of a similar campaign in neighbouring Afghanistan, with both countries aiming to reduce polio transmission across borders.
Frontline workers will travel through households, administer polio drops, and record each child’s vaccination status. NEOC has deployed the workforce by coordinating with local health authorities and volunteer groups to cover the 97 districts in the brief eight‑day window.
The coordinated effort reflects a broader strategy to achieve polio eradication by targeting every child in the under‑five age group. Vaccinating 24 million children represents a substantial delivery effort, given the size of Pakistan’s population and the logistics of door‑to‑door distribution.
ISLAMABAD, Nov. 2 – The NEOC launched the campaign on Monday, and the focus is on covering 97 districts where the incidence of polio is highest. The centre has called on parents to ensure that children receive all required polio drops and to support vaccination teams with cooperation.
While the campaign plans to vaccinate 24 million children, the NEOC stressed that repeated doses are a key component of preventing polio. The door‑to‑door strategy aims to minimize missed cases and to reach children who might otherwise be difficult to access.
Afghanistan’s parallel effort is intended to strengthen cross‑border containment, as polio can move quickly between the two countries’ child populations. The synchronized approach is designed to create a healthier environment for children in the region.
The nationwide vaccination campaign marks a critical step in the country’s ongoing fight against polio, a disease that once threatened a portion of the global population. By mobilising a large workforce and scheduling rapid deployment across targeted districts, the NEOC is seeking to close the remaining gaps in immunisation coverage.
Despite the ambitious scope of the campaign, the NEOC has not indicated any adjustments or setbacks to the schedule. The eight‑day programme will resume on Nov. 8 unless otherwise noted by the centre.
Ultimately, the success of the drive will hinge on the programme’s ability to reach all children under five in each of the 97 districts and on parents’ cooperation in ensuring repeated doses are completed. The data on vaccination rates and coverage will be released after the conclusion of the campaign.
Missing from the official statement are specific metrics on the expected coverage ratio or a timeline for the monitoring of outcomes. However, the NEOC’s mention of door‑to‑door inoculations and the concurrent effort with Afghanistan underscore a coordinated attempt to ensure widespread protection against polio across both nations.