ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has increased the daily stipend for more than 400,000 frontline polio workers by 28%, recognising the people carrying out one of the country’s most critical public-health missions as health authorities prepare to vaccinate more than 31 million children under age 5 during a Sept. 21-27 campaign.
The decision by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) comes at a crucial stage in the country’s decades-long effort to eliminate poliovirus transmission. The upcoming vaccination drive will deploy teams across 115 districts in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.
The stipend increase is more than a financial adjustment for campaign workers who routinely travel from door to door to reach children. It follows a series of Frontline Worker Listening Sessions, during which vaccinators and other field personnel shared their experiences, challenges and recommendations directly with PEI leadership.
Recognising the people behind the final-mile effort
Ayesha Raza Farooq, Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, said frontline workers remain at the heart of Pakistan’s progress towards a polio-free future.
“Our frontline workers go above and beyond to reach every child and support communities, often working in challenging environments,” Farooq said, describing the 28% stipend increase as an important step towards recognising their dedication and contribution.
The PEI is also expanding measures intended to make fieldwork safer and more dignified. These include upgrading Frontline Worker Support Centres with basic amenities in selected areas, issuing identification cards to frontline workers and developing operational safety guidelines for field activities.
The additional support comes as vaccination teams prepare for another enormous logistical undertaking: reaching more than 31 million young children across six regions in a single campaign.
Pakistan has come a long way — but the final steps remain critical
Pakistan has reduced reported polio cases by 99.8%, from an estimated 20,000 cases in the early 1990s to 31 cases in 2025 and three cases so far in 2026, according to the PEI.
That dramatic decline represents decades of vaccination, surveillance and field mobilisation. But the continued detection of wild poliovirus means the eradication effort cannot afford gaps in immunisation coverage.
The remaining transmission is concentrated in particular high-risk areas, making the ability of frontline teams to reach every eligible child especially important. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization noted that about 400,000 trained polio workers were mobilised for Pakistan’s vaccination campaigns, underscoring the scale of the workforce behind the programme.
Parents urged to ensure every child receives two drops
Ahead of the September campaign, the PEI has urged parents and caregivers to welcome vaccination teams and allow them to administer two drops of oral polio vaccine (OPV) to every child under age 5.
The programme has also called on religious leaders, civil society organisations and local communities to support vaccination teams and help ensure they can safely reach children in their assigned areas.
The message comes at a time when Pakistan is closer than ever to interrupting poliovirus transmission, but the final mile remains demanding. Every missed child represents a potential gap in population immunity, while continued vaccination helps protect children and communities from a disease that can cause permanent paralysis.
The 28% stipend increase, alongside new measures for worker safety, identification and basic support facilities, therefore places renewed emphasis on the people who physically deliver the eradication programme to households.
As more than 400,000 frontline workers prepare to enter communities again this month, their reach — and the willingness of families and communities to support them — will be central to Pakistan’s effort to turn its historic reduction in polio cases into lasting eradication.
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