Pakistan has been placed among the top five countries in the world for reducing child mortality, according to the World Health Organization.
The WHO says the country’s vaccination efforts have saved millions of children and played a major role in fighting preventable diseases.
The recognition highlights the impact of the country’s immunisation drive over the years. According to the WHO, vaccination has saved 2.6 million children in Pakistan from dying of preventable diseases.
The WHO said Pakistan began its vaccination programme in 1976 by eliminating smallpox. Since then, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) has helped reduce deaths and strengthen disease prevention across the country.
According to the report, vaccines are now provided free of cost against 13 diseases in Pakistan. The WHO says this long-running immunisation programme has become one of the country’s most important public health tools.
Smallpox eradicated, polio sharply reduced
The WHO said vaccines have completely eradicated smallpox from Pakistan. It also said vaccination has reduced polio cases by 99.8%, marking one of the biggest gains in disease control.
According to the report, Pakistan had around 20,000 polio cases in 1996, while by 2025 that number had fallen dramatically due to vaccination efforts. The WHO also said around 45 million children are vaccinated against polio.
The report said newborns in 80% of the country’s areas have now been protected from tetanus.
It added that Punjab, Sindh, Azad Kashmir, Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan have been confirmed as tetanus-free. This, the WHO said, is another major sign of progress in routine immunisation and maternal-newborn health protection.
Gavi-backed vaccination drive
With support from Gavi, the report said, about seven million children and 5.5 million women are vaccinated every year in Pakistan.
These annual immunisation efforts are helping expand protection against a wide range of diseases. The WHO says such support has helped Pakistan reach large numbers of families through routine vaccination campaigns.
The report also underscored the wider life-saving power of vaccines. According to the WHO, vaccines have saved the lives of 160 million children so far. It also said vaccines have saved the lives of 130 million mothers, showing that immunisation remains vital not only for children but also for maternal health.
Pakistan’s polio campaign one of the largest
The WHO said Pakistan’s polio drive involves the world’s largest workforce for such a campaign.
According to the report, around 15,000 vaccinators and more than 400,000 workers take part in the country’s anti-polio effort. That scale reflects how central vaccination remains to Pakistan’s public health strategy.
