MANDI BAHAUDDIN: A lady health worker was assaulted by local women during an HPV vaccination drive in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin district. The incident highlights challenges faced by health workers in implementing immunisation campaigns.
On September 15, Pakistan’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation launched the nationwide campaign to provide HPV vaccination to young girls, aiming to prevent cervical cancer. The drive targets girls aged 9 to 14 and is part of a phased rollout across the country.
Kuthiala Sheikhan Police Station House Officer (SHO) Sabir Hussain Sandhu said the attack occurred in Chak No-38. Lady Health Worker Ghulam Sugra was reportedly beaten and pushed to the ground by several local women while administering vaccines at a primary school.
An FIR has been registered under Sections 186 (obstructing a public servant) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code. No arrests have been made yet. Sugra stated that a woman named Parveen, along with 15 others, attacked her team during the vaccination effort. “Parveen pushed me to the ground and started punching me. The others also hit me and hurled abuses,” she said.
The HPV vaccination campaign is being conducted in three phases. The first phase, from September 15 to 27, 2025, covers Punjab, Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Islamabad. The second phase will extend to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2026, and the third phase will cover Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan in 2027.
The government aims to vaccinate 90% of girls in the first-phase regions by the end of 2025 and maintain this coverage through routine immunisation programs. Health authorities have emphasized the importance of protecting health workers and ensuring uninterrupted access to vaccines.
Officials also urged local communities to support the drive, noting that HPV vaccination is crucial for preventing cervical cancer, which remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Pakistan.
The incident in Mandi Bahauddin has prompted calls for increased security and awareness campaigns to protect medical staff during vaccination drives.
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