Pakistan has reached a major milestone in its fight against vaccine-preventable diseases, with the highest-ever level of childhood immunization recorded through the Third-Party Verification Immunization Coverage Survey (TPVICS) Round 3. The findings were officially launched today during the National Dissemination Meeting held at PC Bhurban. The dissemination event was organized by the Federal Directorate of Immunization (FDI), Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, with technical and operational support from the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University, and financial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Gates Foundation.

The event was attended by Federal Health Ministers, provincial Health Secretaries, Director Generals of Health, Director General Federal Directorate of Immunization, Provincial EPI Managers, representatives from WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, the Gates Foundation, development partners, academia, and other national stakeholders.

The TPVICS Round 3 (2026) findings indicate a marked reduction in the number of Not immunized Children (NIC) compared with TPVICS Round 2 (2022). In 2022, an estimated 308,700 children aged 12-23 months had not received any routine vaccine (zero-dose), whereas by 2026 this number had declined to approximately 160,000 children, representing a reduction of 148,700 children (48.2%). Similarly, the national prevalence of NIC decreased from approximately 4.9% in 2022 to 2.5% in 2026, a decline of 2.3 percentage points.

Compared with the 2013 baseline, Pakistan has achieved substantial improvements in routine immunization coverage. The proportion of Fully Immunized Children (FIC) increased from 53.8% to 81.3%, an improvement of 27.5 percentage points. Meanwhile, Partially Immunized Children (PIC) declined from 40.8% to 16.2%, representing a reduction of 24.6 percentage points (approximately 60%). Similarly, the proportion of Not Immunized Children (NIC) decreased from 5.4% to 2.5%, corresponding to a 53.7% reduction over the same period.

The independent and third-party survey confirms that Pakistan has made significant progress in expanding routine immunization services over the past decade. Today, more than four out of every five Pakistani children aged 12–23 months are fully immunized, as per TPVICS 2026. This means that many children who previously started but did not complete their vaccination schedule are now receiving all recommended vaccines.

Dr Sajid Soofi, Director CoE WCH, said: “The work behind this survey is unimaginable, a lot of hard work went into it, and in organizing the results for dissemination. My team has faced a lot of problems in every district, but they have also solved them amicably. I am extremely proud of my entire team, and everyone in the Centre for their relentlessness is collecting data on the field, and resolving every conflict that became an obstacle in their path.”

The survey also demonstrates encouraging progress in reaching children who previously received no routine vaccines. These findings reflect Pakistan's sustained efforts to reach missed children, improve equity, and strengthen routine immunization services nationwide.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir saw a 2.0% increase in Full Immunization Coverage, from 90.2% to 92.2%, leading in improvement of immunization coverage amongst all regions.

Punjab tops amongst all provinces with 90.0% Full Immunization Coverage, increasing from 65.6%. At the same time, Partial Immunization Coverage declined from 32.9% to 9.6%, while Not Immunized Children decreased from 1.5% to just 0.4%, indicating that nearly every child now receives at least one vaccine and the vast majority complete the full schedule.

Sindh recorded one of the largest improvements nationwide. Full Immunization Coverage increased from 29.1% to 74.6%, while Partial Immunization Coverage declined from 62.4% to 22.6%. The proportion of Not Immunized Children also decreased from 8.5% to 2.8%, reflecting major gains in reaching previously underserved populations.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa improved Full Immunization Coverage from 52.7% to 71.5%. Partial Immunization Coverage declined from 35.3% to 23.3%, while Not Immunized Children were reduced from 12.0% to 5.2%, demonstrating continued progress despite geographical and operational challenges.

Balochistan achieved the greatest relative improvement in Full Immunization Coverage, increasing from 16.4% in 2013 to 56.6% in 2026. Partial Immunization Coverage declined from 62.8% to 30.0%, while the proportion of Not Immunized Children fell from 20.8% to 13.4%. Although Balochistan continues to face significant challenges, the survey demonstrates meaningful progress and highlights opportunities for further improvement.

Islamabad maintained consistently high immunization performance, with 73.0% Full Immunization Coverage, 26.6% Partial Immunization Coverage, and only 0.4% Not Immunized Children, reflecting strong access to routine immunization services, while Gilgit Baltistan saw a decrease 0f 0.3 from 70.5% to 70.2%.

The TPVICS Round 3 findings provide independently verified evidence that will guide national and provincial planning by identifying districts with remaining immunity gaps, supporting targeted strategies to reach partially immunized and missed children, strengthening equitable access to routine immunization services, and improving programme performance through evidence-based planning and resource allocation.

“When we were planning the survey, we had decided that I would aim for a deep analysis. It will provide us with content which can inform us of a way forward. I am delighted to say that they results have done exactly that — we will not be stagnant, and we will improve the immunization coverage in Pakistan" expressed Dr Musa Khan, Director General, Federal Directorate of Immunisation.

The Government of Pakistan reaffirmed its commitment to building on these achievements by increasing Full Immunization Coverage beyond the current national level, further reducing partial immunization and dropout rates, reaching every zero-dose and missed child, strengthening routine immunization systems through sustained investments and partnerships, and using TPVICS findings to guide national and provincial immunization policies.

Pakistan has achieved its highest-ever childhood immunization coverage, with 81.3% of children now fully immunized. The proportion of partially immunized children has fallen from 40.8% to 16.2%, indicating that many more children are completing the full vaccination schedule. The proportion of children receiving no vaccines has been reduced by more than half, reaching its lowest recorded level at 2.5%. Every province has demonstrated measurable progress, with particularly strong improvements in Sindh and Balochistan, while Punjab has achieved 90% full immunization coverage. The TPVICS Round 3 findings provide robust, independently verified evidence that will support evidence-based policy, strengthen routine immunization services, and accelerate progress toward protecting every child in Pakistan against vaccine-preventable diseases.

If we reflect back on the previous rounds of TPVICS and the extenuating COVID circumstances that those were conducted in to now, where we’ve gone from a very robust national survey being done in a matter of months is a tremendous feat, operationally and programmatically”, commented Carrie Gheen, Senior Country Manager, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance

Overall, the survey findings demonstrate that Pakistan has made significant progress in expanding routine immunization coverage and reducing the number of partially and completely unimmunized children. However, sustained efforts are still needed to reach the remaining zero-dose and under-immunized children, improve completion of vaccination schedules, and ensure equitable immunization coverage across all provinces and districts.