The National Polio Eradication Campaign administers polio eradication to over 43.7 million children across Pakistan
A health worker administers anti-polio drops to a child during the launch of the city-wide vaccination campaign, marking another crucial step in the fight to protect future generations from the crippling disease. PHOTO: JALAL QUERESHI/EXPRESS
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, has confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus in District Torghar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This is the second case of District Torghar this year.
Wild poliovirus (WPV1) was detected in a 12-month-old boy from Union Council Ghari, Torghar. With this detection, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan by 2025 has reached 30, including 19 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The National Polio Eradication Campaign successfully administered polio drops to over 43.7 million children in Pakistan during the first six days, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC).
Read: The polio drive reaches over 43.7 million children across Pakistan
The Prime Minister’s Polio Eradication Focal Point, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, stated, “protecting children from polio is a shared responsibility and I urge all parents and caregivers to open their doors to vaccinators and ensure their children receive the life-saving drops that protect them from a lifelong, crippling disease”.
The polio eradication campaign in southern KP started on October 20 and will end on October 23.
In September 2025, the Pakistan Polio Program collected 127 wastewater samples from 87 districts across the country through its environmental monitoring network. Of these, 81 were found to be negative with no poliovirus detected, while 44 samples tested positive. Two samples are currently being processed in the laboratory.
Of the total samples, Balochistan had 21 negative, 2 positive; Punjab had 22 negative, 8 positive, 1 pending; Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had 24 negative, 10 positive; Sindh had 7 negative, 21 positive, 1 under process; Islamabad had 4 negative, 1 positive; Azad Jammu & Kashmir had 3 negatives; and Gilgit-Baltistan had 1 negative and 1 positive result.
Read more: The anti-polio drive misses the mark
While the overall trend indicates a decrease in positive detections, reflecting the impact of recent high-quality vaccination campaigns, the virus continues to circulate in certain high-risk areas. These findings highlight the continued need for a strong, targeted effort to interrupt transmission.
The nationwide effort saw a massive response from all regions. In Punjab, more than 23 million children were vaccinated, while Sindh protected over 10.4 million. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa recorded over 6.1 million vaccinations and Balochistan inoculated over 2.58 million children.
The campaign also extended to the federal and regional territories. Islamabad administered falls to over 466,000 children, Azad Jammu and Kashmir to over 733,000, and Gilgit-Baltistan to approximately 294,000 children.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the overall performance of the polio campaign satisfactory, noting a significant improvement in the coverage of previously missing children.
Thanks Pakistan for confirming at #EMR72 that the country “stands ready to work together with all member states and the WHO to build a climate-resilient, low-carbon and equitable health future for all.” @WHO stands with Pakistan to jointly tackle climate-driven public health threats. pic.twitter.com/lRfC4cKkP1
— WHO Pakistan (@WHOPakistan) 17 October 2025
Authorities have reiterated that protecting the nation’s future from polio is a national responsibility. NEOC emphasized the vital role of parents and guardians and urged them to ensure that every child under the age of five receives these important drops.
Read also: Pakistan Launches Polio Effort Targeting 45 Million Children: NEOC
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Program, launched in 1994, has helped reduce the annual number of polio cases by 99.6%, from an estimated 20,000 annual cases to 74 by 2024 – and 29 so far this year, NEOC reported.
.@WHO The Committee of the Regions EMRO:
The Prime Minister’s Polio Focal Person @AyeshaRaza13 highlighted that Pakistan has reduced polio cases by 99.6% since the 1990s and reminded us that “we have the historic opportunity to make paralytic polio the second disease to be eradicated worldwide.” #EMRC72 pic.twitter.com/2ZZ3WN8bbE— WHO Pakistan (@WHOPakistan) 15 October 2025
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative, NEOC and partners, on October 13 launched a week-long polio vaccination campaign to vaccinate over 45 million children in 159 districts across the country as part of ongoing efforts to protect all children from paralytic polio.
NEOC mobilized over 400,000 trained vaccinators for the fourth national polio campaign this year. Although the campaign ends today in all other parts of the country, it will run from October 20 to 23 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Since last week, @WHOtogether with partners, have mobilized over 400,000 vaccinators to support @GovtofPakistan in the ongoing campaign to protect 45 million children from paralytic polio. These frontliners have been key to reducing polio cases by 99.6% since 1994. Together we can #EndPolio pic.twitter.com/1PravmXepx
— WHO Pakistan (@WHOPakistan) 20 October 2025
The campaign came at a critical time, with the resurgence of the polio virus affecting 29 children so far this year. In addition, recent widespread flooding across Pakistan has disrupted sanitation systems, displaced families and hindered health services for affected populations, increasing the risk of poliovirus transmission due to stagnant water and shifting populations.
Polio is a highly contagious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for every child under five during each vaccination campaign, along with timely completion of all routine vaccinations.
