<p>Why Have Immunization Efforts in Pakistan Failed to Achieve Global Standards of Vaccination Uptake and Infectious Disease Control?</p>

Abstract

Immunization is one of the most successful public health initiatives in recent times. It is, therefore, worrying to learn the level of under-vaccination in Pakistan. Diseases that have been successfully eliminated through the aid of vaccination in other countries have not been eliminated in Pakistan. The reasons for this vary and show the uniqueness of the economic, healthcare and environmental landscape of Pakistan, through which public health programmes need to be implemented. The "Expanded Programme of Immunization" (EPI) is the main programme through which routine immunization is provided to the public. Within Pakistan, it has encountered many problems since its inception. This includes logistical obstacles, inefficient health worker attitudes, parental and female awareness, and education, the influence of religious community leaders and the complications that accompany conflict. When compared to globally standardised targets for immunization, Pakistan is trailing behind. Not achieving these targets is worrying from both a global perspective and within the national healthcare landscape of Pakistan. Research is necessary to bring together findings on the failings of routine immunization and polio campaigns; there are many intersecting factors that global health bodies and the Department of Health in Pakistan must address in order to relieve the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).

Diagnostic Accuracy of Sputum Microscopy in Comparison With GeneXpert in Pulmonary Tuberculosis

“…There are studies supporting the efficacy of neonatal Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination against TB for 15 to 20 years [11]. BCG vaccination coverage is 80% in Pakistan [12]. We suggest the protective effects of BCG vaccination as a possible explanation for the lower TB prevalence in adolescents in our study.…”

Prevalence of Parental refusal rate and its associated factors in routine immunization by using WHO Vaccine Hesitancy tool: A Cross sectional study at district Bannu, KP, Pakistan

“…Pakistan remain among the top of the list of countries with highest number of unvaccinated children in the world. Despite the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) is in place in the country since 1978, the national immunization rate is consistently low and only two third of the children are fully vaccinated (Butt et al 2020). Wide variations in immunization profile exist between rural and urban population (Butt et al 2020) and the country, along with Afghanistan are the only countries in the world struggling to eradicate polio (Verma et al 2018).…”

“…Despite the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) is in place in the country since 1978, the national immunization rate is consistently low and only two third of the children are fully vaccinated (Butt et al 2020). Wide variations in immunization profile exist between rural and urban population (Butt et al 2020) and the country, along with Afghanistan are the only countries in the world struggling to eradicate polio (Verma et al 2018). Chronically low immunization rate is responsible for 50% of the neonatal deaths from vaccine preventable diseases (Bucher et al 2015), the highest mortality rate in the world.…”

Unveiling and Addressing Implementation Barriers to Routine Immunization in the Peri-Urban Slums of Karachi, Pakistan: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…This can have a detrimental impact on immunization coverage. In many vaccination centers, high staff absenteeism and unavailability is a major contributor towards low immunization coverage [9,10]. This study also linked the poor performance of frontline workers to the unavailability of monitoring mechanisms for the EPI program.…”