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4mo ago

Pakistan Launches Final 2025 Polio Drive to Vaccinate 45 Million Children

Officials say the push concentrates on high-risk zones identified by environmental sampling.

A police officer stands guard as a health worker, right, administers a polio vaccine to a child at a neighbourhood in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
A health worker, right, administers a polio vaccine to a child at a neighbourhood in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
A police officer stands guard as a health worker, right, administers a polio vaccine to a child at a neighbourhood in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a neighbourhood in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Overview

  • The week-long campaign runs December 15–21 with 408,000-plus vaccinators conducting house-to-house, fixed-point and transit operations nationwide.
  • Planners aim to reach about 45.4 million children, including 23.3 million in Punjab, 10.6 million in Sindh, 7.3 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2.66 million in Balochistan, with additional coverage in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
  • The operation is synchronized with Afghanistan to curb cross-border poliovirus transmission.
  • Authorities have deployed extensive security for vaccination teams; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa roughly 50,000 police are assigned after repeated militant attacks in past campaigns.
  • Pakistan has logged 30 polio cases this year, down from 74 in 2024, yet surveillance still finds virus in pockets including Lahore and southern KP, prompting an extended seven-day effort in Lahore and intensified strategies in other high-risk districts.