Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Saturday warned that thousands Polio cases could emerge in Sindh if children are not vaccinated proactively.
He said environmental samples from Karachi and other districts of Sindh tested positive for the poliovirus. Kamal urged parents to ensure their children receive compulsory anti-polio vaccinations.
The minister highlighted that in some areas, vaccination could not be administered due to security concerns, creating a gap in immunization coverage.
Pakistan’s final nationwide anti-polio campaign of 2025 failed to meet its full target. While 98.6% of children were reached, nearly 900,000 children remained unvaccinated.
During the last national campaign from December 15 to 21, 872,776 children missed vaccination. Of these, 669,326 children were unavailable, 148,774 were missed due to security issues or local boycotts, and 54,676 children were not vaccinated due to parental refusal.
Provincial data shows that in Punjab, 331,000 children missed polio drops, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 250,000 unvaccinated children. Sindh had 238,982 children missed, and Balochistan recorded 43,339. In Islamabad, 6,000 children remained unvaccinated, Gilgit-Baltistan had 3,026, and Azad Kashmir reported 1,272.
Sindh alone recorded 32,947 cases of parental refusal, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 21,085 refusals. Federal and provincial authorities warned that this gap in immunization coverage could lead to thousands Polio cases if urgent action is not taken.
Health Minister Kamal urged all parents to cooperate with ongoing polio campaigns and ensure their children are vaccinated on time. Officials emphasized that vaccination is the only effective way to prevent polio and protect children from lifelong disabilities.
With environmental samples showing poliovirus in multiple districts, authorities continue to monitor the situation closely to prevent a surge in thousands Polio cases across Sindh and the country.
In other news read more about: Pakistan Polio Cases Rise To Nine With a New Case Reported In Balochistan
