ISLAMABAD/QUE­TTA: As a new polio case was found in Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the total number of cases detected this year to 24, a week-long special anti-polio campaign was launched in 26 of the 36 districts of Balochistan on Monday amid tight security.

The latest polio case involved a 20-month-old girl from Ping union coun­cil of Tank district, an official of NIH confirmed.

“This is the 14th polio case from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this year. With this detection, the total number of polio cases found in the country in 2025 reached 24. The break-up of the polio cases is: 16 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Gilgit-Balti­stan,” the official said.

He said the victim belo­nged to ​Bettani tribe, adding that the case belonged to highly security compromised area not accessible for vaccination and no travel history was found.

Meanwhile, a week-long special polio campaign was launched in 26 of the 36 districts in Balochistan amid tight security. Provi­ncial authorities have made strict security arran­g­eme­nts to ensure safety of the polio workers in view of the recent target killing of a supervisor of the Polio Pro­g­ramme in Chaman, a town bordering Afghan­istan.

He was targeted by armed men in Roghani area of Chaman while taking part in creating awareness among the parents along with polio workers before launching the campaign in the area.

“We are providing tight security to our polio workers in all the 26 districts where polio staff was administering polio drops and vaccination,” a senior official told Dawn, adding that during the week-long campaign more than 2.18 million children under the age of five will be administered anti-polio drops.

The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Balochistan Coordinator Inam-ul-Haq while announcing the campaign programme said that during the drive in the province more than 2.18 million children under the age of five will be administered anti-polio drops.

Calling the campaign, a crucial step in the fight against poliovirus, Mr Haq urged parents to ensure their children receive the vaccine, warning that failure to do so could result in lifelong disability.

“All preparations have been finalised, and vaccination teams have been fully mobilised in both urban and remote areas of the province,” he said.

The campaign was launched in Quetta, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Chaman, Barkhan, Dera Bugti, Hub, Jaffarabad, Jhal Magsi, Kalat, Khuzdar, Qilla Saifullah, Loralai, Mastung, Noshki, Nasirabad, Sherani, Sibi, Sohbatpur, Usta Mohammad, Zhob, Musakhail, Chagai, Duki, Lasbela, and Ziarat.

A total of 11,659 teams will take part in the drive, including 9,129 mobile teams, 958 fixed-site teams, and 586 transit teams deployed at bus terminals, railway stations, and other key locations. Mr Haq stressed that the success of the campaign depends heavily on the community support. He appealed to civil society members, teachers and religious leaders to help raise awareness about polio among the masses and encourage families to get their children vaccinated.

Alongside the polio campaign, he also reminded parents of the importance of routine immunisation, which protects children against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and diphtheria.

He urged families to visit their nearest health centers to ensure their children receive all scheduled vaccines on time.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2025