WHO ranks Pakistan among top 5 on child deaths
Usama Gill
Lahore: Pakistan has been placed among the top five countries in the world for reducing child mortality, according to the World Health Organization.
The WHO says the country’s vaccination efforts have saved millions of children and played a major role in fighting preventable diseases.
The recognition highlights the impact of the country’s immunisation drive over the years. According to the WHO, vaccination has saved 2.6 million children in Pakistan from dying of preventable diseases.
The WHO said Pakistan began its vaccination programme in 1976 by eliminating smallpox. Since then, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) has helped reduce deaths and strengthen disease prevention across the country.
According to the report, vaccines are now provided free of cost against 13 diseases in Pakistan. The WHO says this long-running immunisation programme has become one of the country’s most important public health tools.
