A review of childhood immunization coverage in Pakistan

Background: The Pakistani Government has prioritized and invested substantial resources in expanding childhood immunization, aiming to increase coverage to > 90%. It is therefore important to track progress towards achieving this target. Aim: To track progress on childhood immunization coverage in Pakistan at baseline, at endline, and at 2 important milestones (2005 and 2010). Methods: Using 2001 as baseline, we collected milestone data (2005, 2010, 2015) on childhood immunization from the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey for children aged 1–5 years. We analysed the data using STATA version 15.1 and used the concentration index for bound variables to analyse equity in coverage. Results: Immunization coverage did not follow a consistent upward trend, and it varied by province. Over the 15-year (2001–2015) period, childhood immunization coverage increased substantially. Although more than 80% of 1–5-year-old children were vaccinated by 2015 at the national level, Pakistan missed the Millenium Development Goals targets for childhood immunization. Only Punjab Province achieved the targets for childhood immunization (92.0% in Punjab vs 82.5% at national level). Higher socioeconomic status increased the odds of being vaccinated while living in rural areas decreased the odds. Conclusion: To improve childhood immunization coverage in Pakistan and achieve the related Sustainable Development Goals targets, it is important for the government to set targets at the provincial level, allocate more resources and continue to track progress regularly until 2030.