{"id":6023,"date":"2025-07-20T18:07:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T18:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2025\/07\/20\/pakistan-childhood-immunisation-2024\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T18:08:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T18:08:49","slug":"pakistan-childhood-immunisation-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2025\/07\/20\/pakistan-childhood-immunisation-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan Hits Record Childhood Immunisation in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pakistan Achieves Record Childhood Immunisation in 2024; Concerns Persist Over Polio<\/strong><\/p>\n

ISLAMABAD \u2013<\/strong> Pakistan has reached its highest-ever immunisation coverage<\/strong> for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) in 2024, with 87% of children vaccinated<\/strong>, according to new data released jointly by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO)<\/strong>. This milestone comes as part of a broader regional achievement, with South Asia recording its highest childhood immunisation rates<\/strong> to date.<\/p>\n

The DTP vaccine coverage<\/strong> is considered a key global indicator of immunisation progress. In South Asia, 92% of infants received their third DTP dose in 2024, up by 2 percentage points from the previous year, while first-dose coverage rose to 95%.<\/p>\n

The report also highlights a dramatic 27% decrease in zero-dose children<\/strong>\u2014those who have received no vaccines\u2014falling from 2.5 million to 1.8 million within a year. This bounce-back surpasses pre-COVID levels<\/strong>, indicating strong recovery efforts led by frontline health workers, national governments, and donor partnerships.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a proud moment for South Asia,\u201d said UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia Sanjay Wijesekera<\/strong>. \u201cBut we cannot forget the millions of children who are under-vaccinated or unvaccinated… We must push into rural areas and give every child their right to healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

HPV Vaccine Launch Anticipated in 2025<\/h3>\n

The data also revealed that Pakistan is expected to introduce the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in 2025<\/strong>, a key step in preventing cervical cancer and enhancing adolescent health services.<\/p>\n

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Pakistan May Become Last Polio-Endemic Country, Senate Told<\/h3>\n

Despite the encouraging immunisation progress, Pakistan still struggles with polio<\/strong>, and Health Minister Mustafa Kamal<\/strong> warned the Senate<\/strong> that Pakistan may soon become the only country in the world<\/strong> where poliovirus persists.<\/p>\n

He noted that Afghanistan\u2019s vaccination campaign is progressing without significant resistance<\/strong>, including door-to-door drives and mosque-based outreach\u2014even in conflict-prone areas like Kandahar.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Pakistan faces challenges of vaccine hesitancy and refusal in some areas. Of the 14 polio cases reported in 2024<\/strong>, five were in Bannu<\/strong>, where families refused vaccinations.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve moved away from using police to enforce vaccination,\u201d Kamal said, \u201cand are now engaging local influencers to build community trust and save children\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Senator Abdul Shakoor Khan<\/strong>, who raised the issue in the Senate, urged that religious scholars be mobilized<\/strong> to help dispel myths and improve vaccine acceptance.<\/p>\n

What Lies Ahead<\/h3>\n

While Pakistan\u2019s immunisation infrastructure is showing resilience and progress, the continued presence of poliovirus<\/strong> remains a major global concern. UNICEF and WHO have called on governments to increase domestic financing<\/strong> for immunisation and ensure that political commitment remains strong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pakistan Achieves Record Childhood Immunisation in 2024; Concerns Persist Over Polio ISLAMABAD \u2013 Pakistan has reached its highest-ever immunisation coverage for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) in 2024, with 87% of children vaccinated, according to new data released jointly by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). This milestone comes as part of a broader …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6023"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6027,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6023\/revisions\/6027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}