islamabad
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched a nationwide anti-polio campaign, administering polio drops to children under five as part of efforts to eradicate the disease.
\nSpeaking at the launch ceremony, PM Sharif reaffirmed his government\u2019s commitment to eliminating polio from Pakistan.
\n\u201cThe national polio vaccination drive will target millions of children to safeguard their future and health,\u201d he said, expressing confidence in the dedication of health teams.
\nThe prime minister acknowledged last year\u2019s challenge, when 77 polio cases were reported in the country, calling it a \u201chuge setback.\u201d However, he noted that only one case has been recorded so far in 2025, reaffirming his resolve to stamp out the virus with the support of international partners.
\nHe stressed that polio workers would reach remote areas and villages, ensuring nationwide coverage.
\nPM Shehbaz also expressed hope that coordinated efforts with global health organisations would help combat polio in Afghanistan, Pakistan\u2019s neighbouring country.
\nThe prime minister thanked the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Saudi Arabia for their continued support in Pakistan\u2019s fight against polio.
\nDr Mukhtar Bharat, the PM\u2019s Coordinator on National Health Services, said authorities had been transparent about polio cases reported last year. \u201cWe did not hide it from the international community,\u201d he said, adding that focused efforts had significantly reduced cases.
\nAysha Raza Farooq, the PM\u2019s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, urged the public to support the campaign. \u201cThe polio vaccination is a national effort, and all segments of society must participate. Parents must cooperate to protect their children,\u201d she said.
\nThe anti-polio drive, running from February 3 to 9, aims to reach millions of children across Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
islamabad Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched a nationwide anti-polio campaign, administering polio drops to children under five as part of efforts to eradicate the disease. Speaking at the launch ceremony, PM Sharif reaffirmed his government\u2019s commitment to eliminating polio from Pakistan. \u201cThe national polio vaccination drive will target millions of children to safeguard …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":76475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76493,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76468\/revisions\/76493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}