At least 19.7 million children under the age of five were vaccinated during a week’s long antipolio campaign held from 1 to 7 September across several districts, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) quoted.
Over 4 million children were covered by Punjab, 8.7 million in Sindh, 2.2 million in Balochistan and 4 million in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
In Islamabad, nearly 479,000 children received polio drops, while 112,000 were vaccinated in Gilgit-Baltistan and 164,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Polio -campaign in Torgarh [Source: EOC]
Earlier, environmental surveillance had recently detected wild poliovirus in wastewater samples from Hyderabad, which marked the sixth positive detection this year, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH).
Read: Polio extermination drive to start 1 September
EOC said parents, civil administrations, law enforcement authorities and health workers played a key role in the success of the campaign, adding that polio teams and security staff were “Heroes of the Nation.”
A follow-up drive begins on September 15 in South Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Bajaur and Upper Dir, targeting 1.6 million children, the center added.
The district authorities have warned that in the current rainy season, densely populated areas remain at higher risk, which emphasizes the importance of ensuring that no child is not unclear.
Read more: Three-day anti-polio drive launched
Parents have been invited to ensure that each child under five receives polio drops in each campaign. Citizens can contact 1166 Helpline or send a WhatsApp message to 0346-7776546 for information.
EOC, which operates under the Ministry of National Health Services, coordinates Pakistan’s polio expulsion program with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Global Partners.
