• Declares immunization gap a national public health emergency
• Blames governance failures, corruption, and weakened immunization infrastructure
• Urges immediate audit of provincial health funding and accountability reforms
The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has raised an urgent national red alert following alarming clinical and epidemiological data indicating that Pakistan hosts one of the highest numbers of “zero-dose” children in the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region—a threshold experts warn could trigger widespread outbreaks of preventable diseases.
“Zero-dose children are defined as those who have not received the initial dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP1) vaccine. With 651,000 infants entirely excluded from routine immunization coverage, the nation faces a critical vulnerability in its public health defenses, risking a resurgence of fatal childhood illnesses,” the PMA stated in its emergency declaration.
“This crisis reflects a profound breakdown in primary preventive healthcare infrastructure,” PMA Secretary-General Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro emphasized. The organization highlighted systemic challenges, including nepotism in health leadership, deteriorating Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) structures, and inadequate strategies to address vaccine hesitancy among communities.
According to WHO data, 90% of the region’s zero-dose children are concentrated in conflict-affected nations such as Sudan, Yemen, and Afghanistan. However, Pakistan’s 14% share of this population—despite not being in active warfare—underscores a failure of governance and administrative oversight, the PMA noted.
“For a stable nation to account for such a significant proportion of unvaccinated children is a stark indictment of our healthcare priorities,” Shoro added. The association called for transparency in provincial EPI funding, stricter procurement regulations, and targeted interventions using geographic mapping to locate and immunize underserved populations.
Demands also included overhauling vaccine storage systems to prevent spoilage, resolving payment delays for healthcare workers, and enhancing security and training programs to ensure effective outreach in remote areas.
