Pakistan reaffirms commitment to eradicate polio citing drop in cases this year

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reiterated his government’s commitment to eradicating polio from the country, his office said, with officials informing him that cases of the disease have dropped significantly in Pakistan compared to last year. 

Pakistan carried out a nationwide anti-polio vaccination drive from Apr. 13-19, vaccinating over 44.7 million children against the disease. Pakistan remains the only country, along with Afghanistan, where the disease is endemic. 

The South Asian country has reported only one case throughout this year. Last year 31 cases of the disease were reported in Pakistan while in 2024, 74 cases were reported across the country, officials briefed Sharif during a meeting in Islamabad to review polio eradication efforts. 

“Addressing the participants, the prime minister reaffirmed the government’s firm resolve to completely eliminate the crippling disease of polio from the country,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. 

Officials briefed Sharif that Pakistan had not reported a polio case this year from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir areas of the country. 

He was also informed that during the first quarter of 2025, 67 districts were affected by polio. This number decreased to 23 in the first quarter of the current year. 

“Improved access and vaccination campaigns in southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have reduced the number of children missing polio drops,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. 

The premier was told that in Karachi, 10 out of 12 environmental samples tested negative for poliovirus in March, indicating positive progress.

Officials said efforts are underway to link and condition the Benazir Income Support Programme, Pakistan’s flagship unconditional cash transfer social safety net program, with polio eradication measures.