Coordinator, Punjab Emergency Operations Centre, Khalid Parvaiz has reaffirmed his resolve to make Punjab polio-free.

In an exclusive interview with Radio Pakistan’s correspondent Qasim Bukhari, he said a special polio vaccination campaign began on Monday across 13 districts of Punjab, targeting more than 10 million children under the age of 5 years.

He said the campaign is being conducted in Dera Ghazi Khan, Lahore, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rawalpindi, Rahim Yar Khan, Sheikhupura, Attock, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Kasur and Mianwali.

He said that the campaign covers both the entire and targeted areas of the 13 districts.

Khalid Parvaiz said ensuring access to polio vaccination for every child under five is the programme’s foremost priority. He said special attention would be given to high-risk areas and locations with significant population movement to ensure that no child is missed.

He said more than 77,000 polio workers would participate in the campaign, while a total of 39,774 mobile, fixed and transit teams would take part in the vaccination drive.

The Punjab EOC Coordinator said the vaccination campaign in Lahore would continue for seven days, until September 27, while vaccination activities in the other targeted districts would continue for four days.

He urged parents to fully cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that all children under five receive polio drops during the campaign.