The National Institute of Health in Islamabad has confirmed two new cases of wild poliovirus, both originating from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The cases involve a 16-month-old girl from District Tank and a 24-month-old girl from District North Waziristan. This development has raised the total number of polio cases recorded in Pakistan in 2025 to 23, highlighting a persistent and serious public health challenge. The majority of these cases, 15, are from KP, with additional cases reported in Sindh, Punjab, and Gilgit Baltistan.
Polio is a highly infectious, incurable disease that attacks the nervous system and can lead to permanent paralysis. Health officials emphasize that the only effective defense is repeated vaccination. The continued emergence of cases, particularly in specific regions, is primarily linked to children missing crucial doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) due to hard-to-access locations or community hesitancy, leaving them vulnerable to the virus.
In response, the National Emergency Operations Centre has unveiled a robust strategy to interrupt the virus’s transmission during the upcoming low season. A massive door-to-door vaccination campaign is scheduled to begin on September 1, 2025, aiming to reach over 28 million children under the age of five across the country. A focused campaign will launch on September 15 in high-risk areas of southern KP. The objective is to rapidly build population immunity and close any protection gaps in these critical districts.
Authorities are issuing an urgent appeal to parents and communities to collaborate with health workers. Eradicating polio is a shared responsibility; while frontline workers deliver the vaccine, families must ensure their children receive every dose. Public support is vital to counter misinformation and encourage widespread participation in the vaccination drives to safeguard all children and finally eliminate the virus from Pakistan.
