ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a nationwide anti-polio drive for the year 2025 on Sunday, which will run from February 3 to 9.
The premier inaugurated the anti-polio campaign by administering polio drops to children under the age of five. The anti-polio drive will target over 4.54 million children across the country.
Addressing the launching ceremony, the prime minister reaffirmed his government’s determination to eliminate the polio disease from Pakistan. He said that the national polio vaccination drive would target millions of children in the country to save their future and health.
He hoped that the dedicated teams would work day and night to eradicate the disease, and would reach the far-flung areas and villages, adding these teams would successfully meet the huge national responsibility by utilizing their complete energies.
“Unfortunately, during the last year, a total of 77 polio cases were reported in the country which emerged as a huge challenge, besides posing a setback,” he stated.
He appreciated all the international partners including WHO, UNICEF, the Bill Gates Foundation, and the brotherly country Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their commitment and efforts to the government in its efforts to eliminate polio.
Addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister’s Coordinator on National Health Services Dr. Mukhtar Bharat said that they had highlighted the number of polio cases which were reported last year and did not hide it from the international community.
A five-day campaign followed by two catch-up days, featuring community-based vaccinations and deployment of special mobile teams will be carried out in the sensitive areas, according to the officials. Over 450,000 workers will be mobilized to make the campaign a success.
Pakistan reported 73 polio cases and collected over 480 polio-positive sewage samples nationwide in last year alone, underscoring the critical need for comprehensive vaccination campaigns.
Earlier, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health also confirmed the detection of the wild poliovirus case type 1 (WPV1) in the country.
why anti-polio drive?
Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of oral polio vaccine are essential for all children under five years of age and the completion of the daily vaccination schedule to ensure children have high immunity against the disease.
Vaccines are delivered to children’s doors each year, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is providing free vaccinations against 12 childhood diseases in the country’s hospitals.
Pakistan is one of the few countries around the globe where poliovirus is still active. The country has made significant efforts to overcome the disease but still, a lot needs to be done.
In 2019, Pakistan reported 147 cases while in 2020, Pakistan reported 84 such cases. It was in 2021 when Pakistan reported only one case, while in 2022, Pakistan reported 20 cases and six cases in 2023.
