Media Update: United Nations Pakistan, 17 June 2026
UNIC-Islamabad
17 June 2026
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WHO, Sindh
PRESS RELEASE
WHO and Sindh inaugurate a vaccination centre to serve 2.5 million people in District South, Karachi
17 June 2026, Karachi, Pakistan – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Sindh yesterday inaugurated a model vaccination centre of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Karachi, to serve 2.5 million people from District South.
The centre – supported by WHO with financial assistance from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – was inaugurated by Sindh’s Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, and WHO’s Representative in Pakistan Dr Luo Dapeng.
The model EPI centre will provide free routine vaccination – protecting children against 13 vaccine-preventable diseases – and tetanus-diphtheria vaccination for pregnant women.
Designed to enhance service quality, the medical facility is equipped with child vaccination areas, a waiting area for parents and caregivers, water and sanitation facilities, furniture, and cold-chain equipment to preserve the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Information materials are also displayed to guide parents regarding vaccine requirements and schedules for their children.
Each year, WHO supports Sindh’s EPI programme to vaccinate 1.5 million children, including 0.7 million in Karachi. As the largest public-sector children’s hospital in Karachi, NICH is expected to serve hundreds of children daily at the new center, which has a catchment population of approximately 2.5 million people in District South.
As of 2025, the routine immunization coverage in Sindh had reached 80 percent, with first-dose pentavalent coverage above 93 percent and Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine coverage for childhood tuberculosis prevention above 90 percent.
Nationally, in partnership with WHO, Pakistan’s EPI vaccinates around 7 million children and 5.5 million women of childbearing age each year.
The centre inauguration follows the opening of the WHO-supported model immunization facility that opened in Punjab at Services Hospital, Lahore, in December 2024. An additional model centre will be inaugurated soon in Quetta, Balochistan.
“The Government of Sindh is placing strong emphasis on improving EPI centers across the province, so parents have a good experience bringing their children for vaccination under the age of two. Understanding the importance of vaccination, and the diseases it protects against, helps ensure children live healthy lives, free from vaccine-preventable diseases," said Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Sindh Minister for Health and Population Welfare, during the inauguration.
“Thanks to medical science, over the last 50 years, Pakistan’s Expanded Programme on Immunization Pakistan has protected over 160 million children and 130 million mothers with life-saving vaccines in collaboration with WHO and partners, and WHO will continue to stand with Pakistan and with Sindh province to protect and save lives,” said WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Luo Dapeng. “This centre adds a fixed vaccination site at one of Sindh’s main children’s hospitals and will help reach children who are missed by routine services, regardless of social or economic status. WHO will continue to work side by side with Sindh on vaccine service delivery, vaccinator training, and data collection through the digital child immunization registry so we leave no child and no mother behind.”
The new centre is part of EPI Sindh’s plan to increase the number of fixed immunization sites in Karachi and reduce the number of children who miss routine vaccination. It is open to all families in the area for free routine childhood immunization and tetanus-diphtheria vaccination for pregnant women. Its central location will also support polio eradication efforts in the city, with routine immunization offered alongside polio supplementary vaccination campaigns – in addition to the polio routine doses included as part of the national immunization schedule. As a referral hospital, NICH also receives walk-in and referred children from across the city.
WHO will continue to stand with Pakistan and its people to bring the medical science behind vaccines to every child and mother, no matter where they live or who they are.
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For additional information, please contact:
- Dr. José Ignacio Martín Galán, Head of Communications, WHO Pakistan: joma...@who.int
- Maryam Yunus, National Professional Officer – Communications, WHO Pakistan: yun...@who.int
About WHO
Founded in 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and people to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. We work with over 190 Member States across more than 150 locations to ensure everyone, everywhere, can attain the highest level of health. WHO has maintained a permanent presence in Pakistan since its country office was established in 1960. For more information, visit https://www.emro.who.int/countries/pak/index.html
