KARACHI: The September Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs) for polio vaccination were formally inaugurated on Saturday at the Rotary Club of Karachi Community Centre in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, ahead of the nationwide campaign scheduled from September 21 to 27, 2026.
National Chair PolioPlus Committee Aziz Memon, who is also a Past Trustee of The Rotary Foundation, inaugurated the campaign along with Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Focal Person Dr. Ahmad Ali Shaikh, Rotary District 3271 District Governor Shahzad Sabir and District Governor-Elect Fahad Sikandar.
Humayun Qureshi, President of the Rotary Club of Karachi, and several Rotarians also attended the event.
The September SNIDs will target around 31 million children under five years of age across 115 high-risk districts in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.
Three large-scale nationwide polio vaccination campaigns have already been conducted since the beginning of the year, reaching around 45 million children. In selected high-risk areas, Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) was administered alongside fractional Inactivated Polio Vaccine (fIPV) to strengthen immunity among vulnerable children.
Speaking on the occasion, Aziz Memon said polio eradication was a collective responsibility and stressed that parents and caregivers had a crucial role in ensuring that children receive all recommended polio vaccine doses as well as routine immunisations.
He said Rotarians facilitate frontline polio workers during vaccination campaigns, monitor National and Sub-National Immunization Days in their respective districts and engage local community leaders to promote vaccination while countering misinformation and myths surrounding polio vaccines.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the two countries where wild poliovirus transmission has not yet been interrupted. Participants at the event highlighted the importance of sustained vaccination efforts to protect every child and move closer to ending polio transmission.
