PESHAWAR, Dec 6: The authorities will launch a special polio immunisation campaign in 40-odd districts on Dec 11.

Official sources told Dawn that 80 per cent of the country’s districts had become polio-free and efforts were under way to ensure 100 per cent vaccination against the crippling disease in the remaining districts during the forthcoming drive.

This round is being seen as crucial by the United Nations and other international donor organisations, they said, adding that Pakistan was in the final stage of the fight against the crippling disease. The global community had tipped Pakistan as the world’s next polio-free country.

The federal and provincial governments aim to immunise over 10 million children with drops of the oral polio vaccine (OPV). About 25,000 teams are expected to be deployed in the high-risk districts during the three-day special drive.

The sources said the most effective polio vaccine used in Pakistan had brought down the number of polio cases to only 13 this year as compared to thousands of cases which used to be reported in the country just a few years ago. They said the country would have more than 20,000 polio cases every year had the administration of the OPV not been started.

They said that 13 districts of the NWFP, seven of the Punjab, nine of Balochistan and 15 of Sindh province would be covered during the latest anti-polio campaign.