{
  "id": 6380219,
  "title": "Vaccination of 100pc children against polio in KP still big challenge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/vaccination-of-100pc-children-against-polio-in-kp-still-big-challenge",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-09T04:30:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2028445/vaccination-of-100pc-children-against-polio-in-kp-still-big-challenge"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Peshawar, a hub of activity, is facing a significant hurdle in its quest to eradicate polio among children. The Emergency Operation Centre Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has earmarked high-risk districts, including Bannu and North Waziristan, for priority in the upcoming nationwide vaccination campaign. The focus on these areas stems from the consistent presence of positive environmental samples, indicating active circulation of the virus in the communities surrounding Peshawar. The World Health Organisation collects samples from multiple sites monthly or bimonthly, with Peshawar's six sites yielding positive results in March, April, June, and July. Samples from Bannu have been positive since October last year, signaling an ongoing threat. Despite some districts bordering Peshawar having no cases for long, their proximity to a positive area warrants special attention. Pakistan has reported three polio cases in 2026 thus far, two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Sindh. In 2025, a total of 31 polio cases were recorded, with 20 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone. The upcoming campaign's success hinges on addressing security concerns and overcoming vaccine hesitancy, as health workers currently reach over 97 percent of children, but still, a few miss out due to parental refusal or inaccessibility.",
  "summary": "PESHAWAR: Emergency Operation Centre Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has planned to accord priority to high-risk districts in the upcoming nationwide polio vaccination campaign due to consistent emergence of positive environmental samples from Peshawar which is frequented by people from those areas. Some districts bordering Peshawar may not have polio cases or positive samples for a long time but since the…",
  "key_points": [
    "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa aims to vaccinate 100% of children against polio.",
    "High-risk districts like Bannu and North Waziristan targeted for priority.",
    "Positive environmental samples found in Peshawar's six sites since March."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The renewed focus on high-risk districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly Bannu and North Waziristan, underscores the struggle to eliminate polio, as vaccine hesitancy and security issues persist despite near-total childhood vaccination coverage.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}