A polio campaign in Peshawar began on Monday in 48 high-risk union councils, with the District Emergency Operations Centre (DEOC)—the district’s coordination hub for emergency health drives—saying preparations are complete for a six-day special booster dose effort. Officials say the drive will target 1,111,107 children aged four months to 10 years to strengthen immunity against poliovirus and cut transmission where the virus has shown up in environmental samples.
Why the focus is on high-risk areas
The campaign is concentrated in union councils labelled high-risk because of the continued threat of polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Recent cases in Khyber district and elsewhere in the province have kept concern high. The infection of a 10-year-old child in Khyber has also underlined that older children still need protection, not only infants.
Health teams will give booster doses at schools, health facilities and community vaccination points. Children aged five to 10 years in the targeted councils will also receive oral polio vaccine drops—liquid vaccine given by mouth—as part of the same drive.
Teams on the ground and security cover
To run the polio campaign in Peshawar, the DEOC has deployed 1,728 trained polio teams and 1,383 social mobilisers. Authorities say security arrangements are in place for vaccination teams so they can work safely across the selected areas over the six days.
The scale of the deployment reflects how large the target group is: more than a million children in a single district’s high-risk pockets. Parents may meet teams at school gates, clinics or neighbourhood points rather than only at fixed hospital counters.
Official appeal to parents and community leaders
Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Afaq Wazir has asked parents to make sure children aged four months to 10 years receive the booster dose, warning that polio can cause lifelong disability. He also called on religious scholars, healthcare professionals and civil society representatives to back the drive and help ensure no eligible child is left out.
That appeal matters in neighbourhoods where refusal or missed rounds can leave gaps in coverage. Officials present the six-day window as a chance to close those gaps in the 48 councils under this special plan.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Peshawar ke 48 high-risk ilaqon mein aaj se chhe din ka polio booster campaign shuru ho gaya hai. Chaar mahine se das saal tak ke bachchon ko qatray aur booster dose milengi. Teamain school, sehat markaz aur mohalle ke vaccination points par kaam karengi. Waledain se darkhwast hai ke apne mustahiq bachchon ko zaroor vaccine dilwayein taake polio se hifazat ho.
