Pakistan conducted its second nationwide polio vaccination campaign May 23-27: 340,000 frontline workers aimed to reach 43.3 million children under age 5 with oral drops and Vitamin A supplements in a house-to-house effort. The five-day event commenced after officials confirmed the country’s third wild polio case of 2022 on May 14. By May 27, additional cases were confirmed from North Waziristan. Before this year’s six cases, there was a 15-month gap of no reported cases in the country.
Various Pakistani provinces implemented security measures to protect polio workers from violence during the campaign. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police accompanied vaccination teams, and various districts prohibited tinted glass in vehicles and carrying and displaying firearms during the duration of the campaign. In Sindh, around 5,000 security personnel—including police and federal rangers—were deployed, and the provincial government is also considering establishing a separate security force for polio vaccination drives. PPEP (1); PPEP (2); ABC News; ITN; Urdu Point