Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Thursday launched Pakistan’s final nationwide polio vaccination drive of 2025, aiming to immunise more than 45 million children under the age of five. Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad, the minister noted a marked decline in polio cases compared to last year and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to eradicating the virus.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the world’s only two countries where polio is still endemic. This year, Pakistan has recorded 30 cases, down from 74 in 2024. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) continues to shoulder the highest burden, reporting 19 of the cases — 16 of them from the province’s southern districts. Kamal said around 200,000 children in south KP had missed vaccination due to persistent law and order challenges.
The minister warned that despite progress, the virus remained “present in more than half of the country,” including major urban centres such as Peshawar, Karachi and Lahore. He urged all segments of society — including parents, elected officials and religious scholars — to support eradication efforts. Calling for a united push, he encouraged public representatives to administer polio drops on camera as a way to inspire community confidence and counter misinformation.
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More than 400,000 polio workers will take part in the latest campaign, which runs from December 15 to 21. The National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) said the drive aims to vaccinate 45.5 million children, including over 23 million in Punjab, 16 million in Sindh, 7.2 million in KP, and 2.6 million in Balochistan. In Islamabad, more than 400,000 children are expected to receive the vaccine.
He recalled that Pakistan had recorded 74 cases in 2024; however, this year the country only saw 30 cases. https://t.co/9SGUyu6A6L
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) December 11, 2025
The NEOC appealed to parents to cooperate fully with vaccination teams and to ensure their children receive repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine, which remains the only effective protection against the highly infectious and incurable disease.
On October 21, a case of wild poliovirus was confirmed in KP’s Torghar, bringing this year’s total to 30. Although the number remains significantly lower than the 71 cases reported in 2024 — when the virus was detected in nearly 90 districts — health authorities cautioned that sustained vigilance is essential to achieve complete eradication.
