The last polio campaign of the year has been officially launched in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar. Provincial Health Minister, Khaliq-ur-Rehman and Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah launched the campaign by administering polio drops to children. “The campaign will continue from December 15 to December 18, during which the target of vaccinating about 6.5 million children has been set,” informs Shafiullah Khan, Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre KP. 

Talking to newsmen, Shafiullah informed that 35,500 polio teams have been formed for the campaign, while 50,000 police personnel will be deployed on duty to protect the teams. The polio campaign in Peshawar and Khyber will continue for 7 days, while in other districts of the province, immunization will be run for 4 days. Coordinator EOC said in current year 19 cases of polio have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including 16 in Southern districts while three are registered in Hazara division .

However, he continued, due to strenuous efforts and effective immunization campaign, since September 2025 no new case of polio has been reported in the province. He said the campaign has been launched in a synchronized manner simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which will positively impact efforts to eliminate the crippling disease from its remaining pockets. Health Minister Khaliq-ur-Rehman said on the occasion that the last polio vaccine campaign has started this year and will continue for four days.

 He said that zero polio cases have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at present and if there is any deficiency in the campaign, it will be filled immediately. Efforts will be made to run the polio campaign in an effective manner even where there are security issues, Health Minister added. Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, while talking to the media, said that polio is a health issue and they do not want to link it with security unnecessarily. Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah clarified that additional security arrangements have been made in districts where security concerns are high.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)