Pakistan begins polio vaccination campaign in selected districts

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Monday launched a sub-national polio vaccination campaign in 115 selected districts across the country, targeting children under five, according to the National Emergency Operations Center.

The campaign aims to vaccinate 31 million children, with more than 273,000 polio workers deployed across the country, the agency said in a statement.

The campaign covers 13 selected districts in eastern Punjab province, 30 in southern Sindh, 37 in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 32 in southwest Balochistan, Islamabad, and two districts in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The agency urged parents to fully cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that every child under five receives polio drops during the campaign.

Pakistan is one of the few countries where polio remains endemic, and authorities conduct repeated vaccination campaigns to stop transmission of the virus.