Pakistan’s Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) conducts widespread house-to-house campaigns, deploying health workers and volunteers to immunize children against polio.. Since 2018, these campaigns have been leveraged to identify and report on zero-dose children. This crucial data is then shared with the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) to ensure these children receive routine vaccinations within six weeks of identification.
In this analysis, ThinkWell and PHC Global examine the effectiveness of these campaigns in identifying and reaching unvaccinated and zero-dose children in Punjab and Sindh. Their findings revealed that the number of identified children varied significantly across districts. While most identified children were unvaccinated, only a small proportion were truly zero-dose as defined by Gavi (over 18 weeks). A key finding was the missed opportunity in reaching identified children: just over half of all zero-dose children identified were subsequently reached with routine vaccines within the six-week target
Any organization or individual working in the field of immunization economics can submit findings, opportunities, calls to action, or other relevant work below to be shared with our community.