ISLAMABAD: The Wor­­­ld Health Organisa­tion (WHO) has announced that it is partnering with the Pakistan government to train over 140,000 hea­lth workers for the upcoming nationwide measles and rubella (MR) vaccination campaign, which aims to protect 35.4 million chil­­dren aged six to 59 months.

The preventive drive, scheduled from Nov 17 to 29, 2025, will supplement routine immunisation ef­­forts and address an im­­munity gap that could otherwise put more than 6.7m children under five at high risk of infection in 2026.

According to a statement issued by WHO on Thursday, in selected high-risk districts, polio drops will also be administered to children under five in collaboration with Pakistan’s Polio Eradica­tion Initiative (PEI), whose teams will support the MR campaign as part of a joint effort with the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).

With funding support from vaccine alliance Gavi, WHO is facilitating comprehensive cascade training sessions for vaccinators, team assistants, and social mobilisers.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2025