Pakistan’s long war against polio appears, at last, to be approaching its decisive phase. The latest numbers offer cautious grounds for optimism – provided the authorities maintain focus and resist the familiar temptation of complacency. In 2025, Pakistan recorded 30 confirmed wild poliovirus cases, down from 74 the year before. The first two months of […]
Polio
Pakistan reports year’s first polio case in Sindh’s Sujawal district
Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication (NEOC) on Thursday confirmed the first wild polio case of 2026 in a four-year-old child from Bello Union Council, Sujawal district, Sindh. The case was reported through the polio surveillance network and confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health […]
Polio’s Pandora’s Box
In a world that celebrates progress and innovation, the reality of polio vaccination in Pakistan presents a stark contrast to our aspirations. Nearly a million children were said to be missed during the year’s first nationwide polio campaign, and over 53,000 families have refused, with Karachi alone accounting for a staggering 58% of these refusals. […]
DC reviews anti-polio campaign
Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Ejaz, chairing a meeting at his office on Saturday, reviewed the progress of the ongoing anti-polio vaccination campaign in the district in line with CM Punjab Maryam’s “Zero Polio” vision. The meeting was attended by SSP Operations, Chief Executive Officer Health, all Assistant Commissioners, DDHOs and representatives of the WHO. The […]
First Lady urges parents to get children immunised against polio
First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari on Monday emphasized the importance of the first nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2026, urging parents to ensure that all children under the age of five receive the vaccine every time it is offered. In a post on social media platform X, she said that health workers were going door […]
PM reiterates resolve to eradicate polio from Pakistan
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday emphasized that the government was taking practical steps through a comprehensive strategy and an effective team to completely eliminate Polio disease from Pakistan at the earliest. He was talking to President Global Development Gates Foundation Dr. Chris Elias who along with his delegation called on him at the […]
Pakistan sees sharp drop in polio cases in 2025
Pakistan recorded a significant decline in polio cases during 2025 despite around 800,000 children missing the final nationwide vaccination campaign of the year, according to officials from the polio eradication programme. Read More: Pakistan’s final Polio push of 2025 begins Polio, a highly infectious viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis, remains endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan. […]
Polio refusal drop in KP, but virus threat persists
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded a decline in polio vaccination refusal cases in 2025, but significant challenges remain as the province continues to report the highest number of polio cases in the country. Official figures show that KP accounted for 19 of the 30 polio cases reported nationwide this year. Read More: Pakistan’s final Polio push of 2025 […]
Pakistan vaccinating over 44.6 million children in final 2025 polio drive
Pakistan has successfully completed its final nationwide anti-polio campaign of 2025, vaccinating more than 44.6 million children, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) reported. The drive, carried out from December 15 to 21, aimed to strengthen the country’s efforts to eradicate polio and ensure all children are protected against the disease. Read More: Pakistan’s final Polio push of […]
Polio Drive
Pakistan has once again declared a final push against polio, and once again the claim sits uneasily beside the evidence. More than 45 million children are to be vaccinated in the last nationwide drive of 2025, backed by over 400,000 frontline workers and the full weight of official symbolism. Yet the virus continues to surface […]