ISLAMABAD: A polio vaccination campaign to immunise more than 21.54 million children under the age of five will kick off in Sindh and Punjab today (Monday).

The five-day campaign is being held in two phases this time as it coincides with the population census. In the first phase, over 17.41m children in 13 districts of Punjab, and 16 districts of Sindh and Islamabad, will be vaccinated from March 13 to March 17.

The second phase will be held from April 3 to 7 — during the second week of Ramazan — to vaccinate more than 4.12m children in 12 districts of Balochistan and 26 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the seven endemic districts in the province’s southern region.

Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel, in a statement, has urged parents and care-givers to ensure their children receive the life-saving polio vaccine so that they remain protected from poliovirus.

“The presence of wild polio in the environment shows that the virus is circulating in our communities and posing a serious risk to our children,” said Mr Patel. “With Ramazan and Eid around the corner, population movements can increase the risk of further spread. Therefore, it is critical that parents and care-givers vaccinate their children in this and every campaign,” he said.

“We have specifically designed this March campaign to reach areas where population movement is not just frequent but also expected during Ramazan and Eid holidays,” said Dr Shahzad Baig, an official at the National Emergency Operations Centre. “

It is essential that we reach as many children as possible.”

No case has been reported in the country since September when a polio outbreak paralysed 20 children – all of them in southern KP districts.

Wild poliovirus was detected for the first time this year in sewage samples collected from two separate sites in Lahore in January. Two more samples have since then tested positive for polio – wild polio has been detected in a sample collected from Dera Ismail Khan and variant poliovirus from Ghotki.

The Sehat Tahhafuz Helpline 1166 and 24/7 WhatsApp Helpline 0346-777-65-46 will be available to assist parents and care-givers in reporting about children who miss vaccination and providing related information.

Polio, a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus, mainly affects children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death.

While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, protection against the virus increases. Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio-free.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2023