ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Pakistan successfully completed its second countrywide anti-polio drive of 2026 on Sunday.
The week-long campaign, which began on April 13, was aimed to vaccinate approximately 45 million children under the age of five across the country.
The campaign covered all major regions, including Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Islamabad.
Over 400,000 frontline health workers participated in the door-to-door effort, supported by thousands of security personnel to ensure smooth operations especially in sensitive areas.
In addition to the oral polio vaccine, children were also administered Vitamin A supplements to strengthen their overall immunity.
The campaign was synchronised with same efforts in Afghanistan to curb the cross-border transmission of the virus.
Anti-polio campaign covered more than 44.7m children
The nationwide campaign covered more than 44.7 million children across Pakistan.
According to data from the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), Punjab recorded the highest number of vaccinations, with more than 23 million children having received polio drops during the campaign. The province remains a key focus due to its large population.
In Sindh, more than 1.4 million children were vaccinated, while Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa reported over 7.22 million vaccinations, showing strong outreach in high-risk areas.
Balochistan saw more than 2.62 million children vaccinated as part of the drive. In Islamabad, over 441,000 children received polio drops. Meanwhile, Gilgit-Baltistan reported vaccinations for more than 292,000 children.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir also contributed significantly, with approximately 717,000 children immunized during the campaign.
