Pakistan Launches Week-Long Anti-Polio Drive Across 79 Districts
Pakistan has launched a week-long anti-polio vaccination campaign covering 79 districts nationwide, deploying thousands of health workers to reach children under five in one of the country's recurring efforts to eradicate the disease. The campaign targets high-risk and previously under-vaccinated populations, with a particular focus on mobile and transient communities that have historically been difficult to reach. Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus transmission has not been eliminated, making sustained campaign coverage a matter of international public health significance. The current drive follows recent detections of poliovirus in environmental surveillance samples, which prompted authorities to accelerate the campaign schedule. Health teams will operate under security protocols in sensitive districts, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan where vaccination efforts have faced access challenges. Global health partners including the World Health Organisation and UNICEF are supporting the campaign.
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