Islamabad:
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal announced that the government will launch a nationwide anti-polio campaign on May 26 with the aim of immunizing more than 45 million children under five.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a seven-day national campaign aimed at vaccinating millions of children under five. He confirmed the government’s obligation to eradicate polio from the country.
Talking after a meeting with President of Global Development at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Chris Elias, Sunday, Kamal confirmed the government’s willingness to eradicate polio under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz.
Read more: PM launches week’s long antipolio drive
“The Prime Minister personally monitors the results of the program and holds regular meetings to ensure its success,” Kamal said. “Federal and provincial governments along with law enforcement authorities are united in this mission.”
Mustafa Kamal praised the Gates Foundation’s continued support and said the security forces had given “huge victims” in the campaign against polio. “Our fight has come with victims, but the mission will continue until polio is completely eradicated,” he added.
The Minister noted that the upcoming campaign will run coordination with Afghanistan and continued joint efforts between the two neighboring countries. He said earlier campaigns in February and April were successfully completed and resistance to vaccination was declining.
Read more: Pakistan confirms the 8th polio case of 2025 in the middle of vaccination campaign
“Due to high -quality campaigns and community engagement, the number of parents who deny vaccines has dropped significantly,” Kamal said. “We are required to remove polio by the end of this year.” Dr. Elias praised Pakistan’s anti-polio efforts and expressed optimism for the country to meet its extermination target in 2025.
Unfortunately, Pakistan remains among the countries that still fight for polio and continue to take measures to eradicate the disease. So far this year, the country has reported eight cases despite ongoing nationwide vaccination campaigns.
Last year, Pakistan reported 74 confirmed polio cases – 27 from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 23 from Sindh and one from Punjab and Islamabad.
