Islamabad:Highlighting the heightened risk of polio transmission during the ongoing winter months, First Lady Bibi Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari Sunday urged people to ensure vaccination of all children under the age of five in the upcoming polio drive.
“Polio virus spreads more aggressively in winter, so no child should be left out of the Dec 15-21 nationwide polio vaccination campaign,” she said in a message. The first lady urged parents, caregivers, public representatives and community leaders to actively support the campaign, emphasising that its success depends on collective responsibility and community participation.
According to officials, the polio campaign aims to vaccinate 45.4 million children nationwide, including 23.3 million in Punjab, 10.6 million in Sindh, 7.3 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2.66 million in Balochistan, with the remaining children to be covered in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory.
The drive will be conducted in coordination with Afghanistan’s December polio campaign to curb cross-border transmission of the virus. Recalling the legacy of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the first lady said Pakistan’s first nationwide polio eradication campaign was launched under the leadership of her mother in 1994 and that her vision continued to guide national efforts to eliminate the disease.
She said she felt a deep personal connection to the cause, recalling that her mother, as prime minister, administered the first polio drops to her. That moment, she said, marked the beginning of Pakistan’s fight against polio and shaped her lifelong commitment to the cause.
According to Bibi Aseefa, the campaign will include a three-day door-to-door vaccination drive followed by one catch-up day. In high-risk areas where community-based vaccination and special mobile team strategies are being implemented, a five-day campaign will be conducted, along with two additional catch-up days.
A total of 408,484 frontline polio workers, including area in-charges, union council medical officers and mobile, fixed and transit teams, have been deployed across the country. The first lady also called on elected representatives, local government officials, religious leaders and community elders to stand with polio teams, facilitate access to communities and help counter misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.
She noted that campaign preparedness was reviewed at the national level during a meeting chaired by the federal health minister on December 11, alongside Provincial Task Force meetings led by chief secretaries to ensure security, logistics, workforce readiness and coordination.
The campaign has been formally launched in all provinces, with the national and provincial emergency operations centres deploying technical experts in high-risk areas for close supervision and real-time support.
Bibi Aseefa urged people to welcome vaccinators, report missed children and support frontline workers, saying only collective action can stop the transmission of the polio virus and protect the future of our children.
