RAWALPINDI: A four-day special anti-polio campaign to vaccinate one million children under the age of five kicked off on Monday in Rawalpindi and Attock districts.
The special anti-polio drive was launched after poliovirus was found in Rawalpindi’s sewage.
In Rawalpindi, the anti-polio campaign was inaugurated at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office.
Deputy Commissioner Nadeem Nasir formally inaugurated the campaign by administering polio drops to children.
During the ceremony, children were administered anti-polio drops, while parents were urged to get their children under the age of five vaccinated against polio so that they could be protected from lifelong disabilities.
The deputy commissioner said the complete eradication of polio was among the top priorities of the government and all institutions were working together to fulfil this national duty.
He said health workers were frontline heroes who were performing their responsibilities well even in difficult circumstances. He urged parents to fully cooperate with the anti-polio teams and make sure their children were vaccinated against polio during every campaign so that Pakistan could be made a polio-free country.
Officials of the District Health Authority, while giving a briefing, said special teams had been formed throughout the district for the anti-polio campaign, which would go door to door to provide polio vaccine to children. They said the health department was taking all possible steps to protect public health.
They said the virus detected in the environment had originated from Afghanistan, highlighting the continued risk of virus importation through population movement. They said there was a need to maintain pressure against poliovirus and continue vaccination efforts to protect children from imported virus.
The deputy commissioner also stressed the need to counter rumours and misinformation surrounding polio vaccination.
“With the support of people, we will address misinformation and rumours about polio and help parents make informed decisions about protecting their children,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Attock, Deputy Commissioner Dr Mudassar Ahmed Shah formally inaugurated the campaign at Government Asfandyar Bukhari District Hospital by administering polio drops to children.
Chief Executive Officer Health Dr Asad Ismail, Medical Superintendent Dr Jawad Elahi and other health department officials were present on the occasion.
The campaign will continue from September 21 to 24, with health authorities deploying 1,133 vaccination teams to reach the targeted children across the district. Of the total teams, 1,033 are mobile teams, 74 fixed teams and 26 transit teams, while 36 Union Council Medical Officers and 212 area in-charges have been assigned supervisory responsibilities.
The health department has set a target of vaccinating 182,174 children under five during the four-day campaign and has called for close monitoring of field teams to ensure maximum coverage.
Speaking at the inauguration, Dr Shah directed the officials concerned to ensure that no child was missed during the campaign. He stressed the timely deployment of vaccination teams, effective monitoring of their performance and achievement of the assigned targets.
He also directed the health authorities to maintain coordination among supervisory staff and field teams so that children in all targeted localities could be reached during the campaign.
Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2026
