Pakistan launches anti-polio drive in Balochistan to vaccinate 300,000 children
Pakistan has initiated a five-day polio vaccination campaign in five districts of Balochistan, targeting over 300,000 children. The effort is part of a broader national strategy to eliminate the poliovirus, which remains endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Why it matters
Public health efforts in the region face significant challenges from misinformation and security threats, making this campaign a critical test for disease eradication.
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan launched a five-day polio vaccination campaign in five districts of the militancy-hit southwestern Balochistan province on Monday, state media reported, aiming to target more than 300,000 children under under the age of 10 as Islamabad intensifies efforts to eliminate the disease. </p>
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries worldwide where poliovirus remains endemic. Islamabad has made significant progress since launching its eradication program in 1994, reducing annual cases by 99.8 percent from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025, according to the country’s polio eradication program.</p>
Pakistan has so far reported only three polio cases this year, according to official data. Two of these cases were reported in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) while one was reported from Sindh. </p>
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