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Pakistan launches week-long polio vaccination drive in Balochistan amid spike in cases
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities will launch a week-long polio vaccination campaign in the country's southwestern Balochistan province today, Monday, amid a fresh spike in cases of the infection.
According to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan, the vaccination drive will begin in 'sensitive union councils' across Balochistan on Monday to target children under the age of five.
'According to Provincial Polio Emergency Operation Center, more than five hundred thousand children up to the age of five will be vaccinated,' Radio Pakistan said.
It said the campaign will cover 123 'high-risk' union councils including those in the provincial capital of Quetta, Pishin, Chaman, Dera Bugti, Duki, Zhob and Killa Abdullah districts.
The polio drive takes place a day after Pakistan's National Emergencies Operation Center reported three fresh cases of the disease, taking the total tally of polio cases this year to 17. Two of the cases were reported in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province while the third case was reported from the country's southern Sindh province.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects young children and can cause permanent paralysis. There is no cure, but it can be prevented through multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and a complete routine immunization schedule, experts say.
Pakistan, one of only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic, the other being neighboring Afghanistan, has made significant gains in recent decades. Annual cases have fallen dramatically from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to single digits by 2018.
However, the country has witnessed a worrying resurgence recently. Pakistan reported 74 cases in 2024, raising alarms among health officials and global partners supporting the eradication campaign. In contrast, only six cases were recorded in 2023 and just one in 2021.
Despite decades of effort, Pakistan's polio eradication drive has faced persistent challenges, including misinformation about vaccines and resistance from conservative religious and militant groups who view immunization campaigns with suspicion.
Some clerics have claimed the vaccines are a Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslim children or part of intelligence operations.
Vaccination teams and police providing security have also been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in remote and conflict-affected areas of KP and Balochistan. These threats have at times forced the suspension of campaigns and restricted access to vulnerable populations.
