RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi district administration and District Health Authority will start a three-day anti-polio drive on Monday to administer vaccines to 977,781 children in Rawalpindi district under five years of age.
The second National Immunisation Days (NIDs) of 2026 will commence across Punjab, aiming to vaccinate more than 23.3 million children in the province under the age of five.
Talking to Dawn, District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Ehsan Ghani said that the overall target for the upcoming polio campaign is 977,781 children under five years of age. He said that the District Polio Eradication Committee (DPEC) meeting, training of staff, including area in-charges and union council coordinators, communication and social mobilisation activities, and training of frontline workers have already been completed successfully.
He said the campaign involves 4,215 mobile teams, 686 area in-charges (AICs), 233 fixed teams and 176 transit teams across 188 union councils (UCs) in seven tehsils of the district, including Gujar Khan, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, Rawalpindi Cantonment area, Rawalpindi city, Rawalpindi rural and Taxila.
On the other hand, Punjab has demonstrated significant progress in polio eradication over the past six months.
Environmental surveillance data and reported WPV1 cases indicate a sharp decline in virus circulation across key regions, including Lahore, south Punjab and Rawalpindi.
Out of 99 environmental samples tested in 2026, only one sample tested positive, which subsequently turned negative in March. Overall positivity has dropped to 1pc, a substantial reduction from 26pc at the end of 2025 and 56pc in August 2025.
Regional trends further underscore this progress. In Lahore, environmental sample positivity has declined from 56pc in 2025 to 5pc in 2026. Rawalpindi has reported zero positive samples this year, compared to 33pc positivity in 2025. Similarly, south Punjab districts have achieved zero per cent positivity in 2026, down from 17–42pc last year.
“All environmental samples from Lahore, south Punjab and Rawalpindi tested negative in the latest round conducted in March, which is a strong indicator of improved population immunity and campaign quality,” said Adeel Tasawur, Punjab head of the Polio Programme and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
As many as 900 police personnel will be deployed to ensure the security of polio vaccination teams.
The police teams will be headed by three superintendents and 10 DSPs/SPs, while 30 station house officers (SHOs) have been assigned security duties in their respective areas to avert any untoward incident. According to the security plan, 688 police teams from 30 police stations, comprising 352 transit and 231 fixed centres, will perform duties during the NID.
Police said the teams will be deployed at 8am and will remain on duty till 6pm. No polio vaccination team will leave the union council office without police security, an official said. As part of the plan, police station mobiles, the Elite Force and the Dolphin Force will also carry out special patrols in the area.
Foolproof security arrangements have been made for the campaign, police said, adding that Rawalpindi Police remains committed to protecting the lives and property of citizens.
Meanwhile, police have rounded up 24 people for violating the fireworks and sound system act at a wedding ceremony within the limits of Saddar Baruni police station. Police said action was taken against those violating the law, and 24 people were arrested. Two speakers, a music system, fireworks equipment and five vehicles were seized from the spot.
Separate cases have been registered against the detainees, who have been taken into custody. They will be challaned in court with solid evidence. SP Saddar Anam Sher said those who violate the Fireworks and Sound System Act and disturb public peace will not escape the law.
Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2026
