Pakistan has launched a week-long sub-national anti-polio campaign across the country, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) said. The drive is under way in 97 selected districts, where 200,000 frontline workers are going door to door to give children polio drops. According to the NEOC, the campaign aims to immunise 20.4 million children, and it is being launched at the same time in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The NEOC has urged parents nationwide to make sure that children aged five years or younger receive the drops. It said repeated doses significantly strengthen children’s immune systems, which it identified as the main benefit of the drive.
Officials stress vaccination as a national priority
Ayesha Raza Farooq, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, called on parents to ensure that all children under five receive the drops during the nationwide sub-national campaign from November 2 to 8. She said eradication was a national responsibility and a key priority of the Government of Pakistan, and that protecting children’s health remained the foremost goal.
Also read: Anti-polio drive begins November 2 in 97 Pakistani districts
Farooq warned that polio is a dangerous disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. Although there is no cure, she said, vaccination can protect children against it, and she stressed that vaccinating during every campaign is essential for complete protection.
She said the campaign will be conducted in 97 selected districts and will target approximately 24 million children. She urged parents to extend full cooperation to vaccination teams and said efforts would continue until poliovirus is completely eradicated from Pakistan.
Eighth polio case of 2026 reported in Khyber district
Pakistan reported its eighth polio case of 2026 on Sunday, involving a 13-month-old girl from Khyber district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the NEOC said. The child belongs to Union Council Janbaz-B in Tehsil Bara. Earlier, Farooq had said seven cases had been reported so far this year, most of them from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
This is the second polio case reported from Khyber district this year and the sixth from the province. The NEOC’s report highlights the continued threat of poliovirus transmission in the region.
Overall wild poliovirus transmission has declined in Pakistan this year, but positive environmental samples from the Peshawar block, which comprises Peshawar and Khyber districts, indicate that the virus is still circulating. This poses a risk to unvaccinated children. The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) has launched a comprehensive investigation into the latest case and is assessing science-based measures, including targeted vaccination and stronger routine immunisation.
Pakistan’s progress and earlier campaigns this year
According to the PEI, Pakistan has reduced polio cases by 99.8 percent, from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025. The PEI said eight cases have been reported so far in 2026, including six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four of them from southern districts, and two from Sindh.
Pakistan has carried out four large-scale polio vaccination campaigns so far in 2026, protecting more than 45 million children multiple times. Targeted drives in high-risk areas, including the Peshawar block, have used oral and injectable vaccines. The September sub-national campaign reached more than 29.3 million children across the country.
The PEI describes polio as a highly contagious viral disease with no cure. It can cause permanent paralysis and, in severe cases, death, but it is preventable through safe and effective vaccination. The PEI said this vaccination has been used in 195 countries, including Muslim-majority nations.
PEI urges parents, communities and media to act
The PEI has urged parents and caregivers to ensure that every child under five receives oral polio vaccine during every campaign, alongside completing routine immunisation schedules. It said frontline workers will continue visiting households, and that parents and caregivers remain essential partners in protecting children.
Communities, religious leaders and the media have been asked to promote vaccination, counter misinformation and ensure that no child is missed in the upcoming campaign. The PEI stressed that polio eradication is a collective responsibility and called for sustained public cooperation to achieve a polio-free Pakistan.
