PESHAWAR: The last polio campaign of the year has been launched in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar, targeting vaccinating of about 6.5 million children.

Provincial health minister Khaliq-ur-Rehman and chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah launched the campaign by administering polio drops to children on Friday.

“The campaign will continue from December 15 to 18,” said Shafiullah Khan, coordinator Emergency Operations Centre, KP.

Talking to mediapersons, he said 35,500 polio teams had been formed for the campaign, while 50,000 policemen would be deployed to protect the teams.

The polio campaign in Peshawar and Khyber will continue for seven days, while in other districts, immunisation will be run for four days.

The EOC coordinator said 19 polio cases had been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the current year, including 16 in southern districts, while three were registered in Hazara division. However, he said due to strenuous efforts and effective immunisation campaign since September 2025 no new case had been reported in the province.

He said the campaign had been launched in a synchronised manner simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which will positively impact efforts to eliminate the crippling disease from its remaining pockets.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2025