LAHORE – The fourth round of the National Immunisation Days (NIDs) for 2025 has started in Punjab on Monday to vaccinate 23.3 million children under the age of five against the crippling poliovirus.
Punjab Chief Minister’s Focal Person Uzma Kardar and Head of the Polio Program Adeel Tasawur inaugurated the campaign by administering the vaccine to children at a hospital in Lahore’s Samanabad area.
Being a reservoir district, Lahore will observe a seven-day campaign, while in all other districts the campaign will continue for four days.
Over 200,000 trained polio workers and supervisors are taking part in the campaign, including 16,605 area in-charges, 3,991 Union Council Medical Officers, 84,884 mobile team members, 4,884 fixed team members, and 2,664 transit team members.
The Punjab Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has deployed experts from all areas to ensure effective implementation and coverage in priority areas.
Despite significant progress in eradicating the virus, poliovirus continues to pose a serious threat due to factors such as population movement, missed children, and misinformation. In 2025, Punjab reported only one polio case, while the circulation of the virus in other provinces remains concerning.
Encouragingly, environmental surveillance data show a decline in virus positivity—from 43% in June to 28% in September. However, 16 districts remain infected, including Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad, Kasur, Okara, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Jhang, Sargodha, Mianwali, and Mandi Bahauddin.
Uzma Kardar said the polio eradication was the government’s top priority. She urged parents to fully cooperate with vaccination teams visiting their homes during the campaign.
“Every child must receive multiple doses of the polio vaccine to ensure full protection. Parents should welcome vaccination teams and ensure protection of their children”, she said.
Adeel Tasawur said that Lahore was a key focus due to increasing internal virus circulation. “Punjab is strengthening surveillance and vaccination at transit points to reach high-risk mobile populations and prevent further spread,” he said.
