RAWALPINDI (Kashmir English): Rawalpindi health department and district administration have approved another anti-polio drive from November 2 after the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) confirmed a substantial presence of poliovirus in the city’s sewage. The last anti-polio campaign of 2026 will also be held in December.
Earlier in 2026, Rawalpindi district administration and health department had made strong claims that the city’s sewage had been completely cleared of poliovirus.
However, a third-party survey detected a significant quantity of the virus in the city’s sewage, particularly in Nullah Lai, prompting authorities to launch another vaccination campaign.
Refusing polio drops
The district administration had previously described families refusing polio drops as Afghan refugees. However, the number of refusal cases continue to rise despite the deportation of majority of Afghan families from Rawalpindi district.
According to officials, such families will be a particular focus of the campaign beginning on November 2. These include a large number of families living in affluent areas as well as Pindora, Satellite Town, Saddar, Dhok Hassu, Pirwadhai, Fauji Colony, Dhok Mangtal, Adiala Road, Gulistan Colony and Rehmatabad.
The officials said, a target of 989,924 children had been set in Rawalpindi district during the previous campaign.
