May 2023: Afghanistan and Pakistan launched synchronized subnational campaigns against polio

Afghanistan and Pakistan launched synchronized subnational campaigns against polio on May 15. Both countries had detected genetically linked wild poliovirus in sewage samples, and Afghanistan recently reported a polio-related death. In Afghanistan, a four-day campaign took place in 23 of the country’s 34 provinces, targeting 6.4 million children. In Pakistan, a two-phase door-to-door campaign enlisted approximately 100,000 health workers as it targeted 23 million children under age 5. The first phase (May 15-19) tackled districts in Punjab, Baluchistan and Sindh, while the second phase focused on 22 districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (May 22-26), followed by parts of Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Quetta (May 29-June 5). UrduPoint; ANI; Xinhua; PPEP