RAWALPINDI: Five National Immunisation Days (NIDs) and one Sub-National Immunisation Day (SNID) were successfully conducted in Rawalpindi district this year for polio eradication. All polio campaigns were completed with effective planning, strict monitoring and vigorous field performance.

This was stated in a news briefing at Deputy Commissioner offices by Punjab Focal Person for Polio Uzma Kardar and Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema on Friday.

A total of 225 union council supervisors, 765 area supervisors, 4,731 mobile teams, 262 fixed sites and 194 transit teams served during the polio campaigns.

Rawalpindi district achieved success in the post-campaign assessment conducted after all the campaigns while 98pc market survey coverage was recorded throughout the year. During the last National Anti-Polio Campaign in December 2025, the target of door-to-door vaccination was 744,940 children, out of which 719,623 children were vaccinated, thus achieving 97 percent coverage.

According to the overall details of polio vaccination, in addition to door-to-door vaccination, full vaccination was also carried out at out-of-house children, educational institutions, guest children, fixed sites and transit points.

Giving a media briefing at the end of the polio campaign, Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Dr. Hassan Waqar Cheema said that Rawalpindi district, especially due to the continuous migration of the population, requires more effort, effective planning and special attention to eradicate polio.

He said that despite this challenge, the efforts of the Rawalpindi district administration, health department and polio teams are commendable for achieving the targets in a timely and effective manner. He added that through a coordinated strategy and strict monitoring, anti-polio campaigns will be further improved in the future.

On this occasion, Punjab Focal Person for Polio Uzma Kardar said that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, is committed to making Punjab polio-free and due to the effective strategy of the provincial government, the performance of the district administration and the tireless work of the field teams, the target of making Punjab polio-free by the year 2026 will be achieved. She appreciated the cooperation of parents and the community and said that public participation and awareness are the basis for complete eradication of polio.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2025