Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus continues to circulate, alongside Afghanistan.
Despite the efforts to eradicate it, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have hampered the process.
Two new cases of wild polio-virus have been reported in Pakistan, bringing the total number of cases nationwide for 2025 to 21, according to health officials' confirmation on Sunday.
A 21-month-old girl from Badin, Sindh, and a six-year-old girl from Lower Kohistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were found to have the new cases.
According to Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Islamabad’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), in a statement, “With these detections, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has reached 21, including 13 from KP, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.”
Polio was a highly infectious and incurable disease that could cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection against the debilitating virus is through the repeated administration of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for every child under five during each campaign, alongside timely completion of all routine immunisations, as in statement.
From September 1 to 7, a sub-national polio vaccination campaign will take place, targeting more than 28 million children under the age of five in 99 districts across all provinces and regions as the statement said.
It added that the campaign was part of the ongoing efforts to quickly strengthen immunity among children and close existing protection gaps.
“Parents and caregivers are strongly urged to ensure their children receive the polio vaccine during this and every campaign.”\
Pakistan had confirmed 17 cases of polio earlier in July, including multiple cases from Umerkot, Lakki Marwat, and North Waziristan. The presence of poliovirus in sewage samples from at least 20 districts, including Islamabad, has been detected by environmental surveillance in recent months, indicating ongoing circulation.
Health experts warn that eradication efforts are being hampered by an increase in vaccine refusals in some places, especially in Karachi and other urban areas.
