ISLAMABAD: Pakistan aims to vaccinate more than 45 million children against polio during the first nationwide immunization drive of 2026, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said on Saturday.

Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated vaccination for every child under five.

The anti-polio campaign will be launched on Feb. 2 and run till Feb. 8, according to the NEOC. The inoculation drive will run simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“Over 400,000 male and female polio workers will perform duties in the national polio campaign,” the NEOC said in a statement.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where transmission of the wild poliovirus has never been interrupted, posing a risk to global eradication efforts.

The NEOC last year conducted six nationwide campaigns against poliovirus in Pakistan, where cases came down from 74 in 2024 to 30 in 2025.

“Parents should fully cooperate with polio workers and protect their children from lifelong disabilities,” the NEOC urged.