Pakistan begins final anti-polio vaccination drive of 2025 after surge in new circumstances

[ad_1] ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani authorities on Monday launched the final nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign of the yr, aiming to guard 45 million kids after greater than two dozen circumstances of the possibly paralyzing illness have been reported, officers mentioned.

In line with the World Well being Group, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan stay the one two nations the place polio has not been eradicated.

Pakistan has reported 30 polio circumstances since January, down from 74 throughout the identical interval final yr, in keeping with an announcement from the government-run Polio Eradication Initiative.

The marketing campaign is the nation’s fifth nationwide vaccination drive this yr. Pakistan repeatedly conducts such campaigns regardless of persistent safety threats.

Well being Minister Mustafa Kamal urged mother and father to cooperate with vaccination groups. “This isn't nearly numbers. Every case threatens a baby’s future and the security of our communities,” Kamal mentioned concerning the newest polio circumstances.

In line with the assertion, greater than 400,000 front-line well being employees are going door-to-door throughout Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and in Islamabad, to make sure no baby is missed.

Militants have repeatedly targeted vaccination workers and the police assigned to guard them, falsely claiming the campaigns are a Western plot to sterilize Muslim kids.

Authorities have deployed hundreds of law enforcement officials to guard vaccination groups following intelligence stories warning of doable militant assaults.

Because the Nineteen Nineties, greater than 200 polio employees and law enforcement officials assigned to protect them have been killed in such assaults.

“The December polio marketing campaign is synchronized with Afghanistan, making certain each nations enhance immunity collectively to interrupt cross-border transmission,” the assertion mentioned.

Officers mentioned Pakistan has made important progress in containing the virus.

“We're nearer than ever to attaining eradication, and this marketing campaign represents a significant ultimate push to cease the virus in all places it nonetheless circulates,” it mentioned.