12th Polio Case
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday confirmed its 12th polio case of the year, highlighting persistent challenges in eradicating the virus despite ongoing national immunization campaigns.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) reported that the latest case was detected in a 33-month-old boy from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, specifically from the Shamsi Khel Union Council.
With this new case, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has now recorded six polio cases in 2025, making it the province with the highest number of infections so far this year.
Sindh follows with four cases, while Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan have each reported one case. The increasing number of cases, particularly from KP, remains a major concern for health authorities who are striving to eliminate the disease entirely from Pakistan.
The revelation comes even as the country pushes forward with a large-scale anti-polio vaccination campaign. According to a report from the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), the recent six-day immunization drive has seen impressive results, with a 97 percent coverage rate nationwide.
In Punjab and Sindh, 97 percent of the targeted children have received the oral polio vaccine, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa achieved a slightly better performance with 98 percent coverage.
Balochistan also met the national average at 97 percent, while Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported a 98 percent success rate. Remarkably, both Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad surpassed their expected vaccination targets, reaching a 101 percent coverage rate — a result attributed to updated census estimates and better-than-expected outreach in remote areas.
The NEOC highlighted that Pakistan’s polio campaign has been synchronized with efforts in neighboring Afghanistan, a collaborative strategy aimed at halting cross-border transmission of the virus. The joint initiative has been progressing smoothly, according to officials, with both countries making coordinated efforts to reach vulnerable populations.
Despite the commendable progress in vaccination coverage, the emergence of new cases such as the one in Bannu underscores the importance of sustained vigilance, public cooperation, and continued access to high-risk regions.
Health experts stress that lapses in vaccine coverage, misinformation, and security concerns in certain areas continue to pose challenges to Pakistan’s goal of becoming polio-free.
Authorities have reiterated their commitment to reaching every child through targeted campaigns and community engagement to eradicate polio once and for all.
