ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated Pakistan’s final anti-polio vaccination campaign of 2024 on Sunday by administering polio drops to children during a ceremony in Islamabad.
The campaign, which will run from December 16 to 22, aims to vaccinate over 44 million children across 143 districts, marking a critical step in the country’s fight against the crippling disease.
At the event, the prime minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated his commitment to eradicating polio despite past troubles. “We will win this war [against polio] despite the difficulties. The recent rise in polio cases with 63 being reported nationwide is a significant challenge and a grave concern,” he said.
Currently, Pakistan is one of only two countries that still harbor the virus of poliomyelitis, the other being Afghanistan. Closely affecting children under five, the disease usually results in lifelong paralysis of the lower limbs.
There are 85,000 mobile teams deployed to work in the towns and far-flung rural areas for the week-long campaign which will vaccinate every child. Alone in Sindh, this will see a coverage of 10.6 million children.
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