Expanded campaign to target children up to five years of age, experts urge parents to vaccinate children on time
A vial of vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella. PHOTO: REUTERS
The Sindh Expanded Program on Immunization in collaboration with UNICEF held a media briefing in Karachi to announce the upcoming national measles and rubella prevention campaign. The campaign is planned from 17 to 29 November. Health experts have appealed to parents to ensure immunization of their children aged six months to five years, stressing that timely vaccination is essential to protect them from life-threatening diseases.
Additional Project Director EPI Sindh, Dr. Sohail Raza Sheikh, said, under the Sindh Immunization and Epidemics Control Act, 2023, it is mandatory for children up to five years to receive their vaccinations. The act, under Section 9, also denotes refusal or obstruction of the immunization process for a punishable offence.
Dr. Sheikh added that this year’s campaign, which will operate through both mobile and fixed vaccination centres, has been expanded. “Normally, measles vaccines are given to children under two years of age, but we have extended the age limit to five years as data shows that most cases are reported among children between the age group of six months to five years,” he explained.
According to 2025 EPI data, a total of 9,431 suspected measles cases were reported across the country. Of these, 4,283 cases were confirmed, with 3,459, or 81 percent of them reported among children under the age of five.
Data also reveals that 212,455 children under the age of five were vaccinated with measles-rubella (MR) doses and that Pakistan recorded a 44 percent decrease in MR cases by 2025. However, 57 measles-related deaths were recorded during the year, demonstrating the need for consistent and expanded immunization efforts.
It was told by Dr. Khalid Shafi, Chairman, National Immunization Technical Advisory Group Pakistan Express PakinomistAlthough measles and rubella vaccines are available for children in the age groups of nine months to fifteen months, about 30 percent of parents still fail to vaccinate their children. As a result, thousands of children get measles every year and some die.
