ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government kicked off a nationwide campaign today, Monday, to vaccinate 16.5 million children against poliovirus, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported, as the South Asian country grapples with the potentially life-threatening disease.
The development takes place days after Pakistan reported its fourth polio case of the year on Saturday, when a toddler from the country’s southern Shikarpur city was found infected with the disease.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the poliovirus, which causes paralysis and can be a life-threatening disease, is endemic.
“A varied duration anti-polio vaccination campaign began across the country today,” Radio Pakistan said. “During the campaign, anti-polio vaccine will be administered to children under five years of age.”
The state broadcaster said mobile teams of health departments would go door-to-door to ensure that no child is left without vaccination. In a press release issued on Sunday, Pakistan’s national health ministry said authorities aimed to vaccinate children in 66 districts throughout the country ahead of the “high-travel” season of Eid Al Adha.
In Punjab, the anti-polio drive has started in six specific districts, which will continue until June 9, the state-run media said. During the drive, anti-polio drops will be administered to 6.4 million children in Lahore, Okara, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Mianwali cities of Punjab.
In Sindh, a seven-day special anti-polio vaccination campaign began in 20 districts including the southern port city of Karachi. In the drive, around 4.5 million children up to the age of five would be administered the anti-polio vaccine.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a five-day anti-polio drive in 23 districts started on Monday, with more than 3.5 million children expected to be administered anti-polio drops during the campaign.
In Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, a seven-day anti-polio campaign began in 14 districts during which over 1.8 million children would be administered anti-polio drops.
“Due to expected heat-wave in Naseerabad, Sibi, Jaffarabad, Usta Muhammad, Dera Bugti and Sohbatpur, the anti-polio drive will begin on 8th of this month,” Radio Pakistan said.
Prime minister’s coordinator on national health services, Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, on Sunday urged parents and caregivers to ensure their children received the best care possible.
“Poliovirus has paralyzed 04 children this year and is consistently being detected in sewage samples, which means the risk to children remains very high,” he said in a statement. “We are resolved to end polio from our country and the support of parents and communities is critical in helping us achieve this goal,” Bharath added.
Pakistan’s efforts to contain polio have often been met with opposition, especially in KP, where militants have carried out attacks against vaccinators and security teams guarding them.
Many believe in the conspiracy theory that polio vaccines are part of a plot by Western outsiders to sterilize Pakistan’s population.
Pakistani masses’ doubts regarding polio campaigns were exacerbated in 2011 when the US Central Intelligence Agency set up a fake hepatitis vaccination program to gather intelligence on former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
