Approximately 500,000 Pakistani children missed out on polio vaccinations during the recent nationwide drive, according to Pakistan’s chief health official. This setback is largely attributed to vaccine refusal and children being unavailable due to travel during the campaign, which ran from October 28 to November 3.
Polio remains a serious issue in Pakistan, with 48 reported cases this year—23 from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 10 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. The government is working to vaccinate over 45 million children, but significant challenges persist, including misinformation, refusal to vaccinate, and violent attacks on health workers. Pakistan is one of the only two countries worldwide where polio remains endemic.
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Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, Pakistan’s coordinator on national health services, assured that the government is committed to finding and vaccinating the children who missed out, emphasizing the program’s focus on high-risk areas like Karachi, Quetta, and parts of KP. Additionally, synchronization of vaccination campaigns with Afghanistan is planned to bolster efforts toward eradication.
This year’s surge in polio cases is partly attributed to Afghan refugees, many of whom were repatriated and moved across Pakistan, carrying the virus. The security situation in some regions has also hampered efforts, with several attacks on polio workers and law enforcement personnel. Despite these challenges, Pakistan’s polio program is praised for having one of the best surveillance systems globally.
