Balochistan to begin seven-day polio campaign across 25 districts on May 18

QUETTA: A seven-day anti-polio vaccination campaign will start across 25 districts of Balochistan on Monday, May 18, with authorities aiming to immunise 1.99 million children under the age of five, according to Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Balochistan Coordinator Inam-ul-Haq.

The campaign is being launched after poliovirus was found in environmental samples collected from eight different sites in the province, indicating that the risk of transmission remains present, the EOC coordinator said.

Inam-ul-Haq said the virus identified in Balochistan’s environmental samples did not originate within the province. He said it had spread from neighbouring provinces and Afghanistan.

Health authorities said timely vaccination continues to be the most effective way to protect children from the crippling disease, underscoring the importance of the latest drive.

Districts included in the campaign

The vaccination campaign will be conducted in Barkhan, Barshore, Chaman, Dera Bugti, Upper Dera Bugti, Duki, Hub, Jaffarabad, Jhal Magsi, Qila Abdullah, Kachhi, Kalat, Qila Saifullah, Loralai, Mastung, Mulakhel, Noshki, Nasirabad, Pishin, Quetta, Sherani, Sibi, Sohbatpur, Usta Mohammad, and Zhob.

To carry out the drive, authorities will deploy 7,699 polio teams across the 25 districts to maximise coverage. These will include 479 fixed teams and 335 transit teams.

The campaign comes as health officials continue efforts to contain the spread of poliovirus in the province through repeated vaccination rounds and surveillance. The latest environmental detections from eight sites have prompted the launch of the week-long exercise in the affected transmission setting described by officials.

Officials have linked the urgency of the campaign to the continued presence of the virus in environmental testing, saying this shows that children remain at risk if vaccination coverage is missed or delayed.

The province-wide effort in the selected districts is part of the public health response focused on children under five, the age group most vulnerable to poliovirus. Authorities have stressed that ensuring children receive the vaccine on time remains central to preventing paralysis caused by the disease.

The campaign is scheduled to run for seven days beginning Monday.