Anti-polio drive kicks off in Pakistan's KP province, 73 lakh children to be vaccinated

Peshawar, May 23 (PTI) As many as 73 lakh children up to the age of five will be administered anti-polio vaccination in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during the upcoming drive, launched formally by Chief Secretary KPK Shahab Ali Shah on Friday.

The chief secretary officially kicked off the province-wide anti-polio campaign by administering oral polio drops to children at the Police Services Hospital in Peshawar.

The five-day campaign is set to begin on May 26 formally and aims to vaccinate approximately 73 lakh children under the age of five across the province.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emergency Operations Center has finalised all preparations for the campaign.

Of the total ten polio cases reported so far in 2025, five belong to the province.

To ensure its success, 35,465 trained polio workers have been deployed in teams throughout the province.

The campaign will be run in all 26 districts of the province to eradicate this crippling disease from the region.

Proper security arrangements have been made to ensure smooth sailing of the campaign in the province, said a police officer.

Pakistan is still endemic for polio because of a long history of attacks on polio workers. The increasing terrorist attacks on polio vaccinators have made its elimination increasingly difficult.

During the last decade, security personnel and police accompanying polio workers have also become victims of terrorist attacks. An official report has confirmed 70 deaths of polio workers in the province since 2012. PTI AMJ AMJ