By Mehrab Shah Afridi
ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal urged parents to take a more active role in Pakistan’s ongoing battle against polio, unveiling a series of measures intended to galvanize public support for the nationwide vaccination campaign scheduled for later this month.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the launch of the National Anti-Polio Campaign, Kamal outlined plans for the next vaccination round, which is set to take place from 15 to 21 December across the country. The minister appealed directly to parents to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that every child under the age of five received the two drops necessary for protection against the virus.
Kamal also called on religious scholars to engage more actively in promoting the campaign, framing immunization as not only a public health responsibility but also a moral and religious duty.
In a bid to further encourage public participation, he proposed an unusual initiative: asking members of parliament to record short 30-second videos of themselves administering drops to their own children or relatives, with the hope that such personal endorsements would motivate wider community engagement.
Authorities reported that 30 cases had been recorded across 15 districts, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bearing the heaviest burden at 19 cases, followed by Sindh with nine. Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan each recorded a single case, underscoring a continued concentration in the northwestern province while other regions reported comparatively low numbers.
Highlighting recent statistics, Kamal said Pakistan had reported 74 polio cases last year compared with 30 so far this year. While he described the reduction as encouraging, he cautioned that the virus remained present in several major cities, with 19 of this year’s cases recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone.
