ISLAMABAD: A nationwide polio vaccination campaign will begin today (Monday) and will continue until September 24.
The vaccination campaign has already begun in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from September 17. A policeman protecting polio workers has been martyred in Kohat.
Over 150,000 polio workers would visit parents at their doorsteps in an attempt to ensure polio eradication. Over 40 million children under five years of age will be vaccinated with the polio vaccine, along with a supplementary dose of Vitamin A capsule during the nationwide campaign.
More than 290,000 Sehat Tahafuz frontline workers will go house to house for vaccination to protect children from lifelong paralysis caused by the poliovirus.
Research shows approximately 50% of all children are Vitamin A deficient in Pakistan, so a supplementary dose of Vitamin A will be included providing protection against various infections and diseases like diarrhea, pneumonia, measles, and night blindness.
While launching the polio immunization drive, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services, Dr Faisal Sultan said that not a single case being reported for seven months giving a unique opportunity to achieve polio eradication.
“Now is the time to re-double our efforts and ensure to each every eligible child with the polio vaccine to solidify this progress. Parents should open their door to frontline workers and vaccinate their children to make way for a polio-free Pakistan,” he said.
He said the prime minister recently met with the District Commissioners of 21 highest risk districts and directed them to personally double their efforts to eradicate polio.
He said Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world with circulating wild poliovirus, together with Afghanistan. Wild poliovirus has been eradicated in all other countries, attesting to the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative Coordinator Dr Shahzad Baig said the upcoming campaign is vital for the programme and Pakistan’s ability to achieve polio eradication.
He said that Pakistan has made substantial progress towards polio eradication, with only one wild poliovirus case reported in 2021 compared to 75 cases at the same time last year.
The significant reduction in cases is supported by a decrease in positive environmental samples from 55% to 12%, highlighting that poliovirus is less active in the country.
He said that this is one of the lowest levels of detected wild poliovirus in the history of the country. It is vital that this opportunity to finally eradicate polio from Pakistan is seized. “We must not be complacent and now is the time to further intensify our national effort to dive polio out of Pakistan once and for all.”
