ISLAMABAD: The government will commence a new phase of its anti-polio campaign in three Pakistani provinces and the federal capital from Monday, said an official statement released in Islamabad that urged people to cooperate with vaccination teams to ensure the eradication of the disease from the country.

The immunization campaign is part of the government's effort to vaccinate 13.5 million children under the age of five in 36 Pakistani districts during the course of the year.

The country has so far reported at least 20 polio cases since the beginning of 2022 which has led to international concern about the deteriorating situation of the disease in Pakistan.

Recently, officials expressed concern that more cases could emerge in the flood-affected areas where millions of people had been displaced and it was difficult to access all the families with young children.

“The campaign will start from November 28 across the country involving nine districts of Punjab, eight districts of Sindh, six districts of Balochistan and Islamabad,” said the statement issued by the health department on Sunday. “In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the campaign will be launched on December 5, targeting nine high-risk districts of the region.”

Pakistan’s health minister Abdul Qadir Patel said the country had made “great strides” while trying to eradicate the disease in recent years.

“If we can eliminate the poliovirus from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we will succeed in eliminating polio from Pakistan altogether,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. “We are actually quite close to the finish line, and we are determined to get there as soon as possible.”

All the polio cases in Pakistan this year have been reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where some parents stop vaccination teams from administering polio drops to their children.

Dr. Shahzad Baig, coordinator of the National Emergency Operation Center, emphasized that the anti-polio campaign required collective action at all levels.

“Our aim is to ensure timely and repeated vaccination of eligible children,” he said. “High-risk districts are our top priority and we are keen to eliminate the poliovirus from the challenging areas while protecting the rest of the region as well.”

“I particularly urge all parents and caregivers to get their children vaccinated instead of hiding them or refusing to take the necessary drops during all vaccination drives,” he continued. “It is important to realize that the poliovirus still exists in our surroundings and no child is safe until all children are truly vaccinated.”

Pakistan has trained over 100,000 people to carry out the vaccination drive and inoculate eligible children by visiting their doorstep.