Five-day anti-polio drive in KP from 21st
Over 800,000 children in Peshawar will receive the polio vaccine
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - A five-day polio eradication campaign will begin in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from April 21, with the drive aimed at vaccinating over 6 million children in the region.
Polio is a paralysing disease with no cure and multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with completing the routine vaccination schedule for children under five, are essential to provide immunity against the virus.
Pakistan, which has reported six polio cases so far in 2025, planned three major polio campaigns in the first half of 2025, with rounds scheduled for April and May, the APP reported, citing authorities.
“A five-day polio eradication campaign is set to be launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from April 21,” the report read. “According to the provincial health department, more than 800,000 children in the capital city of Peshawar will receive the polio vaccine.”
Over 30,000 teams were formed to participate in the campaign whereas 50,000 police personnel will also be deployed for security purposes, the state news agency reported.
Pakistan’s polio program, launched in 1994, has faced significant challenges, including vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who claim immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccination teams.
Last year, Pakistan reported 74 polio cases. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries where polio remains endemic.
