Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the final anti-polio vaccination campaign of 2024 by administering drops to children at a ceremony in Islamabad on Sunday.

“We will win this war [against polio] despite the difficulties faced in the past, polio cases increased and approximately 60 cases in Pakistan have come forward which is a great challenge and matter of great concern,” PM Shehbaz said at the launch ceremony of the anti-polio drive in Islamabad.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic, with the disease mostly affecting children under five, and sometimes causing lifelong paralysis.

The seven-day drive, which begins on Monday, aims to vaccinate more than 44 million children in 143 specified districts of the country.

This concluding drive of 2024 would involve 85,000 mobile teams, working “tirelessly” to reach every child across urban and rural areas of the province.

The last anti-polio campaign of the year 2024 is being launched from December 16 to 22.

The prime minister administered polio drops to children at the ceremony.

He urged parents across the country to help the government in the campaign and by giving polio drops to their children to safeguard their future.

“I would like to acknowledge with a deep sense of gratitude the efforts of our international partners, Bill Gates Foundation, World Health Organisation and the Government of Saudi Arabia,” the prime minister added.

Pakistan’s tally of polio cases nationwide has risen to 63.

Vaccine is safe and free of cost: PM’s focal person

“We are determined to make the vaccine accessible to all children up to the age of five years,” Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq said in a video message.

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“As a mother, I appeal to you to open your doors to polio workers and give all your children up to the age of five the mandatory polio drops.”

She reiterated that the polio vaccine is safe, and effective and is provided free of cost. The premier’s focal person said that routine vaccination was necessary to protect against the crippling disease and other deadly diseases.

Ayesha paid tributes to the brave frontline polio workers serving in difficult circumstances. “Our frontline workers are the real heroes in the ongoing struggle against polio.”