Pakistan to launch nationwide polio campaign on May 26 to immunize over 45 million children

Arab News

19-05-2025

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will launch a third nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign to immunize 45.4 million children under the age of five years, the Pakistani health ministry said on Monday.
The statement came after Health Minister Mustafa Kamal's meeting with Dr. Chris Elias, president for global development at the Gates Foundation, to discuss Pakistan's fight against the disease, according to the health ministry.
Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children are essential to ensure strong immunity against the disease.
Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year and has conducted two major vaccination campaigns in the first half of 2025. Last year, the South Asian country had reported 74 cases of the virus.
'The fight against polio has required tremendous sacrifice from all stakeholders including law enforcement personnel who have rendered invaluable services,' Kamal was quoted as saying by the ministry.
'This mission will continue until we reach complete eradication.'
The minister underscored the ongoing close cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, including synchronized national immunization campaigns across both countries, as well as successful nationwide anti-polio campaigns carried out in February and April.
He shared that improved community engagement has led to a reduction in vaccine refusals among parents, expressing optimism that Pakistan is on track to achieve complete polio eradication by the end of 2025.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains an endemic.
Dr. Elias commended Pakistan for its sustained efforts and reaffirmed the Gates Foundation's commitment to supporting the country's journey toward a polio-free future.
'He expressed hope that the 2025 eradication target would be successfully achieved.' the health ministry said.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually. However, by 2018, the number had dropped to just eight. In 2023, six cases were reported, and only one case was recorded in 2021.
Pakistan's polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly attacks.