Pakistani authorities call for vaccination amid resurgence of polio

KARACHI: The number of polio cases in Pakistan has risen to at least two dozen so far this year, as local authorities urged citizens on Saturday to vaccinate their children against the virus.

Pakistan is one of the only two countries in the world — alongside neighboring Afghanistan — where polio is still endemic.

In 2024, thousands of Pakistani health workers were involved in nationwide campaigns aimed at vaccinating millions of children under five in a state-driven effort to contain the spread of the virus.

But polio has continued to spread across the country, with the number of cases so far this year surging to its highest since 2021.

After health officials reported the first polio case in Islamabad in 16 years earlier this month, the most recent was reported in Sindh province, where local authorities are urging parents and caregivers to vaccinate their children.

“Vaccinate your children to protect them from disability,” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Saturday.

“There is an urgent need for collective action to eradicate the crippling disease of polio. Every time a new polio case is reported, it causes severe distress. While the world is making strides in development, we have yet to free ourselves from polio.”

Nofil Naqvi, spokesperson for the Emergency Operations Center in Sindh, highlighted that the virus has continued to spread because some children have yet to be vaccinated.

“If every child is vaccinated, it will stop,” Naqvi told Arab News. “We’re implementing several changes in our operations and communication strategies. We are hopeful that we will soon stop this spread, which will lead to the ultimate eradication of the polio virus.”

Polio is a highly contagious and sometimes deadly illness, which once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children globally each year. Though incurable, it can be prevented through vaccination. After vaccines were introduced in 1955, the number of cases worldwide dropped by more than 99.9 percent.

Pakistan launched the Polio Eradication Program in 1994, after cases were reported to have reached around 20,000 in the early 1990s.

While the number of cases has declined significantly in the last three decades, the nation continues to face challenges. This includes misinformation and militants who attack vaccinators, particularly in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The polio program also faces continued disruptions from natural disasters, such as the deadly floods that have affected much of Pakistan in recent years.