Health and Me

Ishita Roy

400K WHO-Trained Polio Workers Mobilized To Vaccinate 45 Million Children In Pakistan

One of the world's largest public health campaigns against <span><a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health/polio">polio</a></span> has been launched for Pakistan, where around 400,000 <span>World Health Organization</span> or WHO-trained frontline workers have been mobilized to vaccinate 45 million children. This is the country's first nationwide polio campaign of 2026. This is in collaboration with Polio Eradication Initiative, these frontline workers are going door to door across cities and remote settlements, carrying oral drops that is the only protection against a virus which has no cure. Polio. It can even cause life long paralysis. 

With over three decades of effort, polio cases in Pakistan reduced by 99.8 per cent, from roughly 20,000 cases in the early 1990s to 31 causes in 2025. The country along with <a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health-wellness/pakistan-and-afghanistan-are-the-only-countries-where-polio-remains-an-endemic-says-who-article-151048384" data-type="tilCustomLink">Afghanistan</a>, remains among the last places where wild poliovirus still circulates. This makes this campaign even more critical to global eradication of polio.

Read: <a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health-wellness/pakistan-and-afghanistan-are-the-only-countries-where-polio-remains-an-endemic-says-who-article-151048384" data-type="tilCustomLink">Pakistan And Afghanistan Are The Only Countries Where Polio Remains An Endemic, Says WHO</a> 

<h2>Frontline Workers Reach The Remotest Of Settlements</h2>

“We climb mountains and walk through the snow for hours with great difficulty. There is also a risk of snow falling on us from the mountains. Yet we do not give up. We reach our assigned area to vaccinate all children and protect them from polio,” said Rabia, a vaccinator from Upper Chitral, quoted by the Polio Eradication Initiative.

During the February drive, Rabia trekked steep terrain to visit 146 households and vaccinate 85 children in remote areas.

In nearby Booni, another worker, Momina, described the work as both service and responsibility. “I thank Allah that I have gotten this opportunity to serve and I am trying my best to eradicate polio in my country,” she said, according to the initiative.

Zeenat, deployed in Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, spent long days navigating crowded neighbourhoods and climbing multiple floors to reach children inside apartment buildings. She covered 242 homes, administering oral vaccine drops to every eligible child.

“I am a mother too and I have also gotten my own children vaccinated for polio. Thank God, they are healthy and protected now,” she said in remarks shared by the Polio Eradication Initiative. “This disease has no cure. I want all parents in the country to vaccinate their children with polio drops so they don’t fall prey to paralysis.”

Health workers also marked children’s fingers after vaccination, a standard monitoring method to ensure no child is missed.

<h2>Two Drops, One Goal: Ending Polio</h2>

“The vaccine is very important for children in Pakistan because polio can infect children and paralyze them. This is why we go house-to-house to vaccinate them so that no child is paralyzed,” said Rawalpindi worker Neelum, as reported by the outlet.

Health authorities say the campaign reflects a simple but urgent public-health truth: eradication depends not just on vaccines, but on reaching every last child.

<h2><span rel="noindex">What Is <a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health/polio">Polio</a></span>?</h2>

It is an illness caused by a virus that affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem. It can lead to a person being unable to move certain limbs, which can also lead to paralysis. Furthermore, it can also cause trouble breathing, and lead to death.

The polio virus is a naturally occurring virus that has been around since prehistoric times, as per the WHO. This disease can be found in humans and is spread through the faecal-oral route, which means it is transmitted when someone ingests food or water contaminated by human faeces.

Poliovirus is a small, single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the Enterovirus subgroup of the Picornaviridae family and was first recognized as a distinct condition by English physician Michael Underwood in 1789. The virus was identified in 1909 by Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner.

About 5% of people with poliovirus get a mild version of the disease called abortive poliomyelitis. It has flu-like symptoms and can last for 2 to 3 days. The symptoms include:

A more severe form is the nonparalytic polio, affecting 1% of those infected which may have the symptoms such as:

The most serious form is paralytic polio, while the symptoms start with those of nonparalytic polio and can progress to more severe signs including:

Muscle weakness progressing to a limp paralysis

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One of the world's largest public health campaigns against polio has been launched for Pakistan, where around 400,000 World Health Organization or WHO-trained frontline workers have been mobilized to vaccinate 45 million children. This is the country's first nationwide polio campaign of 2026. This is in collaboration with Polio Eradication Initiative, these frontline workers are going door to door across cities and remote settlements, carrying oral drops that is the only protection against a virus which has no cure. Polio. It can even cause life long paralysis. With over three decades of effort, polio cases in Pakistan reduced by 99.8 per cent, from roughly 20,000 cases in the early 1990s to 31 causes in 2025. The country along with Afghanistan, remains among the last places where wild poliovirus still circulates. This makes this campaign even more critical to global eradication of polio.Read: Pakistan And Afghanistan Are The Only Countries Where Polio Remains An Endemic, Says WHO Frontline Workers Reach The Remotest Of Settlements  “We climb mountains and walk through the snow for hours with great difficulty. There is also a risk of snow falling on us from the mountains. Yet we do not give up. We reach our assigned area to vaccinate all children and protect them from polio,” said Rabia, a vaccinator from Upper Chitral, quoted by the Polio Eradication Initiative.During the February drive, Rabia trekked steep terrain to visit 146 households and vaccinate 85 children in remote areas.In nearby Booni, another worker, Momina, described the work as both service and responsibility. “I thank Allah that I have gotten this opportunity to serve and I am trying my best to eradicate polio in my country,” she said, according to the initiative.Zeenat, deployed in Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, spent long days navigating crowded neighbourhoods and climbing multiple floors to reach children inside apartment buildings. She covered 242 homes, administering oral vaccine drops to every eligible child.“I am a mother too and I have also gotten my own children vaccinated for polio. Thank God, they are healthy and protected now,” she said in remarks shared by the Polio Eradication Initiative. “This disease has no cure. I want all parents in the country to vaccinate their children with polio drops so they don’t fall prey to paralysis.”Health workers also marked children’s fingers after vaccination, a standard monitoring method to ensure no child is missed.Two Drops, One Goal: Ending Polio“The vaccine is very important for children in Pakistan because polio can infect children and paralyze them. This is why we go house-to-house to vaccinate them so that no child is paralyzed,” said Rawalpindi worker Neelum, as reported by the outlet.Health authorities say the campaign reflects a simple but urgent public-health truth: eradication depends not just on vaccines, but on reaching every last child.What Is Polio?It is an illness caused by a virus that affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem. It can lead to a person being unable to move certain limbs, which can also lead to paralysis. Furthermore, it can also cause trouble breathing, and lead to death.The polio virus is a naturally occurring virus that has been around since prehistoric times, as per the WHO. This disease can be found in humans and is spread through the faecal-oral route, which means it is transmitted when someone ingests food or water contaminated by human faeces.Poliovirus is a small, single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the Enterovirus subgroup of the Picornaviridae family and was first recognized as a distinct condition by English physician Michael Underwood in 1789. The virus was identified in 1909 by Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner.About 5% of people with poliovirus get a mild version of the disease called abortive poliomyelitis. It has flu-like symptoms and can last for 2 to 3 days. The symptoms include:FeverHeadacheMuscle AchesSore ThroatStomachacheLoss of appetiteNauseaVomitingA more severe form is the nonparalytic polio, affecting 1% of those infected which may have the symptoms such as:Neck pain or stiffnessAches or stiffness in arms or legsSevere headacheThe most serious form is paralytic polio, while the symptoms start with those of nonparalytic polio and can progress to more severe signs including:Intense painExtreme sensitivity to touchTingling or pricking sensationsMuscles spasms or twitchingMuscle weakness progressing to a limp paralysis