By Editorial
PAKISTAN has recorded its highest-ever coverage of the DTP vaccine — protecting children against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis — with 87pc coverage achieved last year. This is an encouraging figure and represents a rebound from the disruption caused by Covid-19. Across South Asia too, record high levels of immunisation have been reached, with the UN noting a significant reduction in zero-dose children. If this progress is indeed accurate — since number fudging during inoculation campaigns has been a problem — Pakistan should celebrate the achievement. Unfortunately, even as the country improves on key child immunisation indicators, it remains stuck as one of only two countries where polio remains endemic. Worse, with Afghanistan steadily progressing, Pakistan may soon hold the shameful distinction of being the world’s only polio-prevalent country That prospect alone should propel the government into action.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has rightly shifted from coercive policing practices to engaging c