{"id":99551,"date":"2026-02-02T20:03:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/?p=99551"},"modified":"2026-02-02T20:03:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:03:39","slug":"pakistan-launches-polio-drive-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/news\/pakistan-launches-polio-drive-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan Launches Polio Drive 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pakistan has officially launched its Polio Drive 2026<\/strong> first nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2026, marking a critical step in the country\u2019s long fight against the polio virus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The week-long drive runs from February 2 to February 8 and aims to vaccinate around 45 million children under the age of five years across 159 districts.<\/p>\n

Health teams have been deployed nationwide to ensure every eligible child receives two drops of the oral polio vaccine, which experts say is safe, effective, and globally trusted.<\/p>\n

\n

High-Level Launch in Islamabad<\/h2>\n

The campaign was formally inaugurated in Islamabad at the CDA Rawal Town Dispensary<\/strong>, where senior government officials and international health partners gathered to show support.<\/p>\n

The launch ceremony was attended by Pakistan\u2019s Polio Eradication leadership, alongside representatives from WHO<\/strong>, UNICEF<\/strong>, and the Canadian High Commission<\/strong>. Local district authorities and frontline health workers were also present.<\/p>\n

Officials personally interacted with vaccination teams and families, underlining the importance of community trust and cooperation at this decisive stage.<\/p>\n

\n

Pakistan Nears the Final Mile Against Polio Virus<\/h2>\n

Since Pakistan began polio eradication efforts in 1994<\/strong>, the country has made remarkable progress.<\/p>\n

Annual cases have dropped by over 99 percent<\/strong>, falling from an estimated 20,000 cases per year<\/strong> in the 1990s to 31 reported cases in 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Health authorities credit this progress to repeated door-to-door campaigns, strong government leadership, and the tireless work of more than 400,000 frontline vaccinators<\/strong> who operate in challenging conditions during each drive.<\/p>\n

Health officials stress that polio remains a threat until transmission is completely stopped.<\/p>\n

Each campaign plays a vital role, especially in protecting children who may have missed earlier doses. Experts emphasize that children need repeated vaccinations to build strong immunity.<\/p>\n

During the launch, officials urged parents, teachers, religious leaders, media, and community influencers to continue supporting vaccination efforts and counter misinformation.<\/p>\n

The delegation also visited a local girls\u2019 school in Islamabad, where students asked questions about health and vaccines, showing growing awareness among young Pakistanis.<\/p>\n

\"Polio<\/p>\n

\n

United Push for a Polio-Free Pakistan<\/h2>\n

As Pakistan enters what officials call the \u201cfinal phase\u201d of eradication, the government and international partners have renewed their commitment to stay united and focused.<\/p>\n

Health authorities believe consistent public cooperation can help Pakistan finally eliminate polio and secure a healthier future for coming generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pakistan has officially launched its Polio Drive 2026 first nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2026, marking a critical step in the country\u2019s long fight against the polio virus. The week-long drive runs from February 2 to February 8 and aims to vaccinate around 45 million children under the age of five years across 159 districts. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":99552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[34529,34528,34526,26703,34530,34527,22123],"class_list":["post-99551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-child-health-pakistan","tag-pakistan-health-news","tag-pakistan-launches-polio-drive-2026","tag-pakistan-polio","tag-polio-drive-2026","tag-polio-eradication-drive-2026","tag-polio-vaccination-campaign"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99554,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99551\/revisions\/99554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}