04-day anti-polio campaign launched across AJK

MIRPUR (AJK) , (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point news - 13th Apr, 2026) An intensive four-day national polio eradication campaign on Monday started across all ten districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), in coordination with the World Health Organization, the Health Authorities said.

The drive, launched under the State Health Services Department, will continue until 16 April and aims to vaccinate more than 742,000 children under the age of five.

The door-to-door teams would administer polio drops along with vitamin A supplements, while fixed vaccination centres had also been set up across the region, they added.

The campaign is being carried out in Muzaffarabad, Neelum Valley, Jhelum Valley, Bagh, Poonch, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Mirpur and Bhimber.

The officials said around 4,058 mobile teams were taking part in the operation, supported by 450 fixed health centres and 163 transit vaccination points established at bus terminals, markets and entry points. The teams will work from 8am to 4pm daily.

More than 300 union council supervisors and nearly 950 area in-charges had been deployed to monitor field teams and ensure vaccine delivery, they added.

The district control rooms have been activated to oversee the campaign, alongside a central monitoring cell in the provincial programme management office in Muzaffarabad. The effort is also being supervised by the WHO and Pakistan’s Federal EPI programme.

The health officials urged parents to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that no child under five misses the polio drops.

The officials pointed out the region had remained polio-free for 24 years, crediting sustained vaccination efforts and public cooperation.

They added that the wider national campaign aimed to eliminate polio across Pakistan, and appealed to media, civil society and citizens to support awareness efforts.

The health experts warned that continued vaccination was essential to prevent the re-emergence of the virus.

APP/ahr/378