ISLAMABAD: The week-long polio vaccination campaign, which concluded on Sunday, has achieved 97% of its target according to data from the first six days. The final data, including the last day’s efforts, will be compiled on Monday.
Launched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on September 9 across 115 districts, the campaign aimed to vaccinate 30 million children under the age of five, with 286,000 polio workers going door-to-door.
Dr. Malik Mukhtar Bharath, the Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Health, reported that 97% of children had been vaccinated by September 14, with catch-up activities underway to ensure no child is left unvaccinated. He praised the efforts of polio teams working under challenging conditions.
He also directed the national polio program to review post-campaign results and address gaps ahead of the next campaign in October. Muhammad Anwarul Haq, coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, noted that while the campaign faced challenges in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the drive in Balochistan was successful.
