Islamabad: First Lady Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari has appealed to parents, caregivers, elected representatives, religious leaders and community elders to actively support the December Nationwide Polio Vaccination Campaign, scheduled to be held from December 15 to 21, 2025, across all provinces and regions of Pakistan.
In her message, Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari emphasized that the success of the campaign depends on collective responsibility and urged families to ensure that every child under the age of five receives polio drops. She said the campaign aims to vaccinate 45.4 million children nationwide, including 23.3 million in Punjab, 10.6 million in Sindh, 7.3 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2.66 million in Balochistan, with the remaining children to be covered in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad Capital Territory. She added that the campaign is being conducted in coordination with Afghanistan's December polio drive to prevent cross-border transmission of the virus.
Recalling the legacy of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, she said Pakistan's first nationwide polio eradication campaign was launched under her leadership in 1994. She shared a personal memory, stating that her mother, as Prime Minister, personally administered the first polio drops to her, an event she described as the beginning of Pakistan's national fight against polio and a moment that shaped her own lifelong commitment to the cause.
Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari informed that the campaign will follow a three-day house-to-house vaccination schedule with one catch-up day. In high-risk areas, a five-day campaign will be conducted with two additional catch-up days under Community-Based Vaccination and Special Mobile Team strategies. She said a total of 408,484 frontline polio workers, including area in-charges, union council medical officers and mobile, fixed and transit teams, have been deployed across the country.
She also called upon elected representatives, local government officials, religious scholars and community elders to stand with polio teams, facilitate their access to communities and help counter misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.
Highlighting preparedness measures, she noted that campaign readiness was reviewed at the national level during a meeting chaired by the Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination on December 11, along with Provincial Task Force meetings led by Chief Secretaries. She said these meetings ensured arrangements for security, logistics, workforce readiness and coordination. National and Provincial Emergency Operations Centres have also deployed technical experts in high-risk areas for close supervision and real-time support.
Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari urged citizens to welcome vaccination teams, report any missed children and support frontline workers, stressing that united action is essential to stop the virus and safeguard the future of Pakistan's children.