Pakistan launches final national polio campaign of 2025
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) has officially launched the fifth and final nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2025, running from 15 to 21 December 2025 across the country. This week-long drive aims to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of five with life-saving oral polio vaccine drops.
The announcement comes as Pakistan grapples with persistent wild poliovirus transmission, remaining one of only two countries in the world where the disease is endemic alongside Afghanistan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and global eradication partners.
Nationwide vaccination drive details
The National EOC said the campaign will reach children in every province and region, with provincial targets as follows:
- Punjab: 23 million children
- Sindh: 10.6 million children
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 7.2 million children
- Balochistan: 2.6 million children
- Islamabad: 460,000 children
- Gilgit-Baltistan: 228,000 children
- Azad Jammu & Kashmir: 760,000 children
Parents and caregivers have been urged to open their doors to polio workers and ensure their children receive the two required oral polio vaccine drops to maximize protection. Health authorities also reminded families to complete the full immunization schedule from birth to 15 months to safeguard against polio and other preventable childhood diseases.
Current polio landscape in Pakistan
Official data shows that Pakistan has recorded 30 polio cases in 2025, a decrease from 74 cases in 2024, underscoring progress but also highlighting ongoing transmission risks. The most recent case was reported in October this year, reflecting the persistent challenge of reaching all eligible children in high-risk areas.
A provincial breakdown of 2025 polio cases indicates that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported the majority of infections, while Sindh, Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan have also documented cases, emphasizing the need for comprehensive vaccination coverage nationwide.
Sindh campaign update, provincial efforts
In Sindh, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah inaugurated the campaign in Karachi, personally administering polio drops to children at CMS School, UC Old Haji Camp. The drive aims to cover 10.6 million children across 1,345 union councils in 30 districts of the province. Over 80,000 frontline workers are mobilized for the campaign, supported by more than 21,000 security personnel, including 400 lady police constables, to protect vaccination teams and ensure smooth operations.
CM Shah noted that six districts reported polio cases in 2025, including a recent detection in Badin, and highlighted the province’s strong surveillance and environmental monitoring systems that help detect the virus early. He called on parents to ensure their children are vaccinated and lauded frontline polio workers as national heroes in the fight against the disease.
Global context: the fight to eradicate polio
While Pakistan remains one of the last two countries where wild poliovirus continues to circulate, worldwide efforts have dramatically reduced polio cases by over 99% since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988. Today, only Pakistan and Afghanistan report endemic transmission of wild poliovirus, reflecting both progress and remaining obstacles to global eradication.
The GPEI, a partnership led by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CDC, and Gavi, continues to innovate and strengthen vaccination campaigns, including new vaccine technologies and targeted strategies to reach hard-to-reach populations. However, recent funding challenges and budget gaps have posed risks to eradication progress, prompting renewed global commitments to bridge resource shortfalls and sustain high immunization coverage.
Why this campaign matters
Polio remains a life-threatening, incurable viral disease that primarily affects children under five and can cause irreversible paralysis. The only effective prevention is repeated oral polio vaccine doses delivered during nationwide campaigns like this one, combined with routine immunization. High coverage during every vaccination round is essential to interrupt virus transmission and move closer to a polio-free Pakistan and world.
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