A week-long polio vaccination campaign began across Pakistan on Monday, November 2, aiming to reach nearly 24 million children under five in 97 selected districts by November 8.
More than 200,000 frontline workers are taking part in the sub-national campaign, going house to house and staffing fixed and transit points. Every child under five is due two drops during the campaign, regardless of doses received before, and parents are being urged to complete routine immunisation schedules as well.
The drive opens days after the country confirmed its eighth polio case of 2026: a 13-month-old girl from Union Council Janbaz-B in Tehsil Bara, Khyber district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Six of this year’s eight cases are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two from Sindh. The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative has opened an investigation into the latest case and is assessing targeted vaccination and stronger routine immunisation in the area.
First Lady Asifa Bhutto Zardari, in a message marking the campaign, said: “Our goal is to make Pakistan polio-free by June 2027, and this requires sustained efforts to reach every eligible child.” Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq likewise urged parents to make sure all children under five receive the drops.
The provincial breakdowns reported so far include more than 2.2 million children across 31 districts in Balochistan, where no new case has been reported since November 2024. Pakistan has run four large-scale campaigns so far in 2026, protecting more than 45 million children multiple times; the September sub-national round alone reached more than 29.3 million children. Health officials note the country has cut polio cases by 99.8 per cent since the early 1990s, when an estimated 20,000 cases occurred, against 31 cases in 2025 — but the new Khyber case shows transmission has not yet stopped.
Sources: The Nation, 2 November 2026 (https://www.nation.com.pk/02-Nov-2026/pakistan-reports-eighth-polio-case); Business Recorder, 2 November 2026 (https://www.brecorder.com/news/40446926); UrduPoint / APP, 1 November 2026 (https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/polio-vaccination-campaign-from-november-2-a-2281608.html and https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/pakistan-reports-eighth-polio-case-2281506.html); ARY News, 1 November 2026 (https://arynews.tv/week-long-anti-polio-drive-kicks-off-across-the-country-from-nov-2).
