Chief Secretary (CS) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah underlines importance of routine immunization to eradicate polio

Chief Secretary (CS) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah on Wednesday said that strengthening routine immunization remains the most effective strategy for the eradication of the polio virus in the province

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Apr, 2026) Chief Secretary (CS) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah on Wednesday said that strengthening routine immunization remains the most effective strategy for the eradication of the polio virus in the province.

He was speaking at an inauguration ceremony held at the Police Services Hospital Peshawar. He also administered anti-polio drops to children and said that provincial government has set an ambitious target of achieving 90 percent immunization coverage by 2027. He expressed confidence that steady progress would enable the province to meet this goal to curb the spread of the virus.

He noted that while significant gains have been made, certain challenges persist in the southern and merged districts of the province. However, he said these issues are being addressed through security arrangements and enhanced community engagement during vaccination campaigns.

The CS underlined the importance of sustained awareness efforts and active participation of local communities to eliminate vaccine refusal cases.

Community ownership is crucial to ensure that no child is left unvaccinated,” he added.

Responding to media queries, he said that districts, particularly Peshawar, which had previously reported positive environmental samples have shown encouraging improvement. He told that recent sample collections did not detect the virus in Peshawar that speaks of effective containment measures.

He also commended the performance of polio workers, health teams and district administrations terming their efforts exemplary.

Later, he chaired a meeting of Polio Eradication Task Force to review field preparations for the upcoming campaign. The meeting was attended by representatives of development partners, health officials, and members of the Provincial Emergency Operations Center.

Meeting was informed that approximately 6.5 million children would be vaccinated during the province-wide anti-polio campaign scheduled to commence on April 13.