The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government launched an anti-political impulse on Thursday, with the aim of immunizing 5.7 million children in the province in the midst of security risks.
Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where polyomyelitis remains endemic. Challenges such as security problems, vaccine vaccine and erroneous information have slowed the progress of eradication efforts. The vaccinators, who go to the door to inoculate the children, are frequently attacked by militants, especially in KP and Baluchistan. Only in 2024, 20 people died and 53 were injured during anti-political campaigns in the KP.
On August 26, two new cases were reported in the south of the province, taking the cases of KP total polio for this year to 15, while the national count is 23.
The immunization campaign was formally launched today at the Peshawar Police Services Hospital, where KP advisor at Health Ehtesham Ali, while talking to the media, said: “We have developed a more organized and strategic approach this time, especially in areas where cases have been reported recently.”
He pointed out that of 15 cases of polio in KP, 13 were reported in the south of the province. Detailing the campaign, Ali shared that it will be carried out in two phases.
The first phase of the immunization campaign will be executed for four days, as of September 1, and is prepared to completely cover Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera and Charsadda, including another 16 districts, while three other districts will be partially covered, according to the data provided by the KP Health Department.
The second phase will be executed for three days and will begin from September 15, with the aim of attacking Bannu, Bajaur and seven districts of the Ismail Khan division.
The seven -day campaign, which aims to immunize 5.7 million children, will involve 27,000 polio equipment, while 40,000 security personnel will be implemented for protection.
Ali stressed that “although the world has largely eradicated polyomyelitis, we still face challenges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
“Committees have been formed to involve and convince the parents, and efforts are being made to address local resistance,” he added.
The Health Advisor cited the wrong information, the parents’ refusal to vaccinate their children, and particularly security risks as reasons for the slow progress of eradication efforts.
“The insecurity in certain districts has made it difficult to carry out successful campaigns,” said the advisor, added that, although the teams may face security problems, the government has planned strategies accordingly.
In that note, he said that the KP government had launched a polio campaign in South Waziristan after two years, adding that the fused and the south districts were regions where polio teams faced the greatest resistance.
Echoing similar concerns, the main secretary of KP, Shahab Ali Shah, who was also present at the event, said the fused and southern districts are where polio teams face the greatest resistance.
“Our teams face real challenges, but Pakistan’s government and army are actively helping to maintain the law and order in these sensitive areas,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of routine immunizations, Shah said: “Strengthening general health services is essential to control not only polyomyelitis, but also other preventable diseases.”
“When a child contracts polio, the whole family suffers, both emotionally and economically,” he said.
Poly is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause life paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the Polyomyelitis (OPV) vaccine for each child under five years during each campaign, along with the timely completion of all essential immunizations.
