PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has formally launched its September anti-polio campaign.

The drive was jointly inaugurated by health minister Khaliqur Rehman and chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah. The event was also attended by health secretary Fayyaz Ali Shah, officials of the Provincial Polio Emergency Operations Centre, representatives of international partner organisations and members of the media.

Speaking to media, Khaliqur Rehman said the campaign would run province-wide simultaneously from September 21 to September 27, with the participation of 35,000 polio teams, security personnel and other relevant agencies. He said the campaign aims to reach 7.3 million children across the province to administer polio drops.

He appealed to social media activists and the public to actively participate in the drive so that the disease could be eradicated once and for all. He also thanked the chief secretary for personally monitoring the campaign, noting that this had led to significant improvement compared to last year.

The chief secretary said that all three polio cases reported this year originated from areas where access to children had been difficult due to security concerns. He noted that when a child was left disabled by the virus, the entire family suffered as a result. For this reason, three special campaigns were conducted over the past three months in Upper South Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan, North Waziristan and Bannu to ensure every child could be reached.

The chief secretary further stated that special measures had been taken to improve health facilities in the affected areas including the recruitment and deployment of 2,400 doctors, final approval and procurement of the essential medicines (MCC) list and the outsourcing of management at 72 remote hospitals under which patients will continue to receive free treatment, with all costs borne by the government. A roadmap has also been developed to strengthen and integrate routine immunisation efforts.

He made clear that the polio threat was not confined to the province alone, as the presence of the poliovirus in neighbouring Afghanistan continued to pose a risk of cross-border transmission. He urged the media and social media to help raise public awareness, particularly emphasising the importance of reaching children in poor and underserved areas and said that delivering healthcare to these children remains a fundamental responsibility of the government.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2026