LAHORE (Dunya News) – A sub-national anti-polio vaccination campaign has begun across 115 selected districts of Pakistan, with more than 31 million children under the age of five targeted for vaccination.
According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), more than 273,000 trained polio workers are participating in the seven-day campaign, which will continue from September 21 to 27. The drive is being conducted in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan, with a focus on high-risk districts and areas where children remain vulnerable to poliovirus transmission.
In Punjab, more than 10.6 million children across 13 districts will be administered polio drops, while 10 million children in 30 districts of Sindh will be vaccinated.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the campaign aims to vaccinate around 7.3 million children in 37 districts. In Balochistan, 2.3 million children across 32 districts are being targeted.
Meanwhile, around 447,000 children in Islamabad will receive polio drops, while 137,000 children in two districts of Gilgit-Baltistan are included in the vaccination campaign.
The campaign is being conducted simultaneously with vaccination activities in neighbouring Afghanistan as part of efforts to strengthen cross-border measures against poliovirus transmission.
According to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative, the country has reported four confirmed wild poliovirus type 1 cases so far in 2026, including three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Sindh. Authorities have urged parents and caregivers to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that every child under five receives polio drops during the campaign.