ISLAMABAD: A recent World Bank analysis indicates that Pakistan has achieved remarkable progress in vaccination coverage over the past three decades, with a 117.6% rise in the proportion of children (aged 12 to 23 months) who were wholly vaccinated between 1990 and 2020.

Najy Benhassine, Country Director of the World Bank for Pakistan, tweeted that the World Bank has released a policy statement on a new report summarising 30 years of progress for the vaccination of all Pakistani children.

Najy Benhassin, Country Director, World Bank, appreciates the immunisation steps of Pakistan 

Consequently, the incidence of vaccine-preventable illnesses (VPDs) has decreased, according to the policy note.

Immunisation continues to be a top goal for the Pakistani government and an integral component of advancing toward universal health coverage and constructing resilient health systems.

The National Immunization Support Project (NISP) was launched in 2016 with funding from the United States Agency for International Development, the World Bank, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the policy statement.

It was said that NISP is a five-year programme slated to end in June 2022 that supports and incentivises the government's Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI).

Through strengthening EPI systems and increasing immunisation coverage, NISP has been essential in reducing childhood morbidity and death due to VPDs, especially between 2018 and 2020.