Pakistan anti-polio drive misses vaccination target by 300,000 children
By Sadia Khan :
Pakistan’s second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year has fallen short of its target, with around 300,000 children not reached during the vaccination drive, according to official data.
The week-long campaign aimed to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of five, but figures released by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) on Monday showed that over 44.7 million children received anti-polio drops.
Officials said that, alongside polio vaccination, children were also given Vitamin A supplements to help boost immunity.
Provincial data showed that more than 23 million children were vaccinated in Punjab, over 10.4 million in Sindh, around 7.2 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and more than 2.6 million in Balochistan. In addition, around 441,000 children were vaccinated in Islamabad, 292,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and approximately 717,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The NEOC said strong cooperation from parents and communities played an important role in the campaign’s overall reach.
However, health experts noted that missing several hundred thousand children is not unusual in nationwide drives, citing factors such as travel and vaccine refusals. One polio expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that in previous campaigns the number of missed children has ranged between 800,000 and one million, suggesting the latest shortfall may represent an improvement in coverage.
The expert also warned that Pakistan is entering the high transmission season for the poliovirus, which typically becomes more active from May to September due to rising temperatures.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic, alongside Afghanistan.
According to official data, more than 44.3 million children were vaccinated during the first campaign of the year held in February, although around one million children were missed and more than 53,000 refusals were recorded.
Health authorities also confirmed 31 polio cases in 2025, while one case has been reported so far in 2026 from Sujawal in Sindh.
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