ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Pakistan has vaccinated 44.6 million children against poliovirus in the last nationwide immunisation campaign of the year, health authorities said on Monday.
The seven-day anti-polio campaign was launched on Dec 15, targeting children under the age of five. It was conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), which oversees eradication efforts.
“The final National Polio Eradication Campaign of 2025 has been successfully concluded,” the EOC said in a statement. “During the national polio campaign, vaccination of more than 44.6 million children was successfully completed.”
Giving a breakdown of the numbers, the EOC said approximately 22.9 million children have received polio drops in Punjab province, around 10.6 million in Sindh, more than 7.1 million in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and more than 2.54 million children in Balochistan.
In Islamabad, over 450,000 children received polio drops while in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, approximately 274,000 children have been vaccinated, the NEOC said.
In Azad Jammu & Kashmir, over 714,000 children received polio drops.
Pakistan has reported 30 polio cases so far in 2025, underscoring the fragility of progress against the virus. The country recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp increase from six cases in 2023, reflecting setbacks linked to vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and access challenges in high-risk areas.