Pakistan has launched its 2026 nationwide polio drive ,targeting more than 45 million children across the country. The drive targets the protection of children against the debilitating poliovirus while curbing its spread in high-risk regions.
Health teams are going door-to-door in Sindh, Punjab, KP, and Balochistan. Authorities emphasized the government’s ongoing fight to eliminate polio, highlighting the urgent need to protect every child across the country.
Vaccination Targets and Security Arrangements
In Sindh, more than 80,000 polio workers will vaccinate over 10 million children during a seven-day campaign from February 2 to February 8. To ensure their safety, 7,703 police personnel have been deployed across Karachi. The security team includes 2,724 officers in the East Zone, 2,909 in the West Zone, and 2,070 in the South Zone.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah inaugurated the drive by administering anti-polio drops to children at a school in Chanesar Goth, Karachi. Meanwhile, in Lahore, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, said the campaign remains a top priority for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal government.
In Punjab, a four-day drive has begun in Rawalpindi targeting 1.57 million children. About 8,000 polio workers are participating in the initiative. Similarly, a campaign in Lodhran has deployed 1,459 teams to vaccinate 385,027 children.
KP and Balochistan Drive Intensifies Efforts
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials have launched a five-day inoculation campaign targeting 6.5 million children. The health department has deployed 35,000 polio teams along with 50,000 police personnel. Peshawar alone will see over 800,000 children vaccinated.
Balochistan has also kicked off a seven-day campaign, aiming to vaccinate more than 2.6 million children. Authorities have deployed 11,000 teams to cover the province effectively.
Polio Situation and Public Health Significance
Poliovirus is primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route, entering the body orally and multiplying in the intestines. Infected individuals can spread the virus for several weeks, making proper sanitation and hygiene crucial to prevent outbreaks.
The vaccination drive comes weeks after Pakistan reported 31 polio cases in 2025, including a four-month-old girl from North Waziristan . KP had 20 cases, Sindh nine, Punjab one, and Gilgit-Baltistan one—a notable decline from 74 cases in 2024.
Officials stressed that nationwide campaigns remain vital to eliminating polio. Health authorities urged parents to vaccinate their children during the door-to-door drives to ensure complete protection against the disease.
