🇵🇰 Pakistan: Shielding Every Last Child

A healthcare worker gives two polio drops to a baby during Pakistan's National Immunization Days. Text reads: “Two drops today, no tears tomorrow. Let your children have a polio-free future.”

Overview

In April 2025, the Pakistan DCE and SBC teams launched a targeted digital engagement campaign to support National Immunization Days (NIDs), using the emotionally resonant theme “Shielding Every Last Child.” This initiative is part of a broader rollout of the Global DCE Content & Messaging Strategy, tailored to local contexts to counter vaccine hesitancy and strengthen public trust.

Campaign Purpose

In April 2025, Pakistan launched its first fully localized digital advertising campaign to support National Immunization Days (NIDs), under the global DCE strategy:

“Shielding Every Last Child, Propelling Humanity Forward”

This message frames polio vaccination as a protective act—not just for a child, but for families, communities, and society at large.

The campaign aimed to rebuild trust, counter misinformation, and encourage full-dose completion using creative content in Urdu and English, across Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.

See the Campaign in Action

Strategic Approach

The campaign was developed in close coordination with the national DCE and SBC teams, building on global guidance and evidence from past digital campaigns. Messages were designed around three key pillars:

PillarFocus
ActCommunicate NID dates and access clearly and simply
EducateExplain why children need multiple doses and dispel common myths
MobilizeHighlight the role of youth, men, and faith leaders in protecting children

Assets were created in Urdu and English and adapted for use on TikTok, Meta, and YouTube.

The localized concept resonated emotionally and culturally, encouraging families to protect every child—starting with two polio drops.

Priority Audiences

This campaign targeted key decision-makers and influencers, using UNICEF’s global personas framework. In the Pakistan context, the most relevant included:

  • Concerned Parents – motivated to protect their children, but seeking reassurance

  • Sceptical Parents – exposed to misinformation and unsure whom to trust

  • Pragmatic Fathers – value clarity, efficiency, and actionable information

  • Connected Youth – engaged online and able to influence family decision-making

  • Religious Leaders – highly trusted voices in communities

Messages and formats were designed to reflect their information needs, behaviors, and language preferences.

Channels and Formats

The campaign used platform-specific creative tailored to how each audience engages:

PlatformWhy It Was UsedFormats Deployed
TikTokReaches youth and young parentsShort-form videos, native storytelling
MetaWidely used by caregivers and familiesReels, visuals, animations
YouTubeTrusted platform for longer storytellingSkippable ads, Shorts

Performance Highlights

The campaign demonstrated strong performance across platforms:

  • 8.9 million+ people reached

  • Video formats showed the highest engagement

  • Cost per result remained well below benchmark

  • Urdu content performed better in high-risk districts

Campaign delivery was guided by real-time feedback and coordinated with the Polio Communication Office (PCO) for impact optimization.

Messages That Moved Communities

How the Right Message Made a Difference

This campaign confirmed that localized, emotionally resonant content—delivered through the right platforms—can help overcome hesitation and prompt action. Some of the key learnings include:

  • Short videos performed best across platforms, especially those featuring real voices and community settings.

  • Urdu content had higher engagement in districts with persistent refusals or low coverage.

  • Trusted messengers matter—parents and caregivers responded more positively to relatable voices than to official-sounding messages.

  • Timeliness of delivery was critical: audience engagement peaked during the first two days of the campaign and on NID launch day.

Building on This Momentum

To build on these results:

  • A pre- and post-campaign survey is now underway to better understand shifts in awareness and trust.

  • Insights will be used to adapt content for upcoming SNID rounds and support broader social mobilization efforts.

  • The approach is now informing similar localized strategies in other priority countries, including Afghanistan and Sudan.

Protecting Every Child, One Message at a Time

Pakistan remains one of only two countries where wild poliovirus is still circulating. Every round of immunization counts—and every piece of trusted information can make the difference between protection and vulnerability.

By designing content that speaks the language, culture, and values of families, this campaign helped bring vaccination closer to home—online and offline.

Together, we are getting closer to a polio-free future for every child.