ISLAMABAD: Rigorous vaccination drives across Pakistan this year have cut polio cases by more than half compared to 2024, officials said.
Reported polio cases declined from 74 in 2024 to 30 in 2025, with the most recent case reported in October this year.
National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Coordinator Farhan Shah said sustained and aggressive anti-polio efforts have significantly reduced the number of reported cases.
“This year’s rigorous polio campaigns have shown clear positive results, reducing the number of cases by over 50% compared to last year,” he told Pakistan TV Digital.
The year’s fifth and final nationwide campaign will be launched from Dec. 15 to 21. It aims to vaccinate more than 45 million children under the age of five across the country.
As per official data, over 23 million children will be vaccinated in Punjab, more than 10.6 million in Sindh, around 7.2 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and over 2.6 million in Balochistan.
In Islamabad, approximately 460,000 children will receive polio drops, while more than 228,000 children in Gilgit-Baltistan and over 760,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir will be covered.
More than 400,000 male and female polio workers will participate in the campaign, conducting door-to-door visits and staffing vaccination points to ensure children receive two drops of the oral polio vaccine.
The national operations center stressed that protecting children from polio is a shared national responsibility. It urged parents to fully cooperate with vaccination teams to help secure a polio-free future for Pakistan.
Parents have been advised to ensure that all children under the age of five are vaccinated during the campaign.
.jpg)
