PESHAWAR: As Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is set to launch polio vaccination campaign after few days, 25 of the total 34 environmental samples collected from the province have emerged negative for poliovirus.

Six samples were collected from different sites in Peshawar. One of these samples has tested negative for poliovirus while results of the remaining five are pending in Polio Laboratory at National Institute of Health Islamabad. However, authorities are hopeful that the remaining will also stay negative for the virus like the samples tested in January and February.

A meeting of provincial task force, co-chaired by Health Minister Khaliqur Rehman and Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, held here the other day was informed that 6.5 million children below five years would be inoculated against the crippling disease with the help of 35,500 teams under heavy police protection during the campaign starting on April 13.

The meeting discussed strategy for the upcoming campaign with special focus on Bannu and North Waziristan as the virus was found in environmental samples of both the districts.

Campaign starting on April 13 to target 6.5 million children

On the occasion, the chief secretary said that leniency would not be tolerated in those areas, which had proven to be free of virus in the light of environmental samples’ results, including Peshawar that was one of the core reservoirs of the virus, officials, who attended the meeting, told Dawn.

The meeting was also attended by Health Secretary Shahidullah Khan, the coordinator of emergency operation centre (EOC), Shahifullah Khan, and representatives of Unicef and World Health Organisation. It was informed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which reported 20 of the 31 nationwide polio cases last year, mostly from southern districts, had not recorded any infection in the current year so far.

Last month, the maiden polio drive of 2026 targeted 6.47 million children in 36 districts of the province. Health workers reached 96 per cent of the target children during the campaign. The number of missed children stood at 80,632 as they didn’t show up during the door-to-door drive, the meeting was told.

However, there was an improvement in the campaign compared to December’s drive last year, where the tally of missed children was 82,393, as the number of children remaining unvaccinated due to their parents’ reluctance dipped from 18,349 in December to 17,390 during the last month’s drive.

Meanwhile, a press release quoted the chief secretary as saying that immunisation was key to polio eradication. He said that strengthening routine immunisation remained the most effective strategy to do away with the virus and safeguard children against host of ailments.

Later, Health Minister Khaliqur Rehman and Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah jointly inaugurated the campaign at Services Hospital by administering anti-polio drops to children.

The government has set a target of 90 per cent immunisation coverage by 2027. The chief secretary said that routine immunisation rate in the province had gone up from 50 per cent in November last year to 74 per cent in February of the current as part of efforts to scale up immunisation coverage to 90 per cent by the end of next year.

The ongoing progress, he hoped, would enable the province to meet the goal, ultimately helping to curb spread of the virus. However, he said that despite significant gains, certain challenges still persisted in the southern and tribal districts that warranted special attention.

“We are aware of the issues, which are being addressed by putting in place foolproof security arrangements and enhanced community engagements,” he said.

Mr Shah said that sustained awareness efforts and active participation of local communities were vital to convince reluctant parents for vaccinating their children as refusal against jabs hampered the eradication efforts. “Community ownership is crucial to ensure that no child is left unvaccinated,” he added.

The health minister said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohammad Suhail Afridi, the polio eradication programme was achieving targets and moving in the right direction.

He urged parents, teachers, religious scholars and all segments of society to fully cooperate with polio teams and ensure that their children received polio drops, contributing to that national cause.

He expressed optimism that the province would not only maintain its polio-free status but would also emerge as a leading province in the healthcare sector.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2026