In a quiet village on the outskirts of Peshawar, Shahid Khan, 30, goes door to door, helping vaccinators administer polio drops to all the children in his community. For Shahid, this is more than a campaign, it is a personal mission born of pain and love.
“My own daughter is a polio patient,” he said, his voice shaking as he watched her struggle to walk. “Every time I see her unable to play like other children, it breaks me. That’s why I promised that no child in my area will suffer like her. I will make sure that everyone is vaccinated.”
Shahid’s story resonates in countless homes across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where families still live with the lifelong scars of a disease that should have been history by now. Every unvaccinated child becomes a reminder of the challenges Pakistan continues to face in eradicating polio, a virus that thrives on neglect, misinformation and resistance.
A Polio Eradication Program official, who requested anonymity, said that while polio remains a “national cause” supported by all levels of government – from the prime minister to provincial leaders – the road has not been easy. “The environment in KP and the merged districts has always been complex,” he noted. “At times, our work has been targeted by militants and foreign elements seeking to disrupt a noble cause.”
Read: Pakistan launches anti-polio campaign targeting 45 million children: NEOC
He acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the past. “Whenever health interventions are imposed by force, communities react with suspicion,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ve done it before. It’s time to rebuild trust and ensure people understand vaccination as a right, not an obligation.”
The official added that Pakistan must learn from its neighbors. “If Afghanistan and other countries can come close to eliminating the virus, why can’t we? We need to rethink our communication strategy and make sure we reach every last child.”
“If we can defeat India in war, why not defeat India also in health to eradicate polio? If the same commitment was made, then polio would be eradicated from Pakistan,” he added, pointing out that despite the conflict in many Muslim countries, polio is not present there; So why is he still in Pakistan?
Professor Dr Muhammad Hussain, renowned pediatrician and former president of Pakistan Pediatric Association, said the answer lies in treating polio as part of a broader public health system and not as an isolated mission. “Polio must be addressed seriously but without sensationalism,” he said. The express PAkGazette.
“Excessive safety protocols and large public ceremonies often overshadow the real work. The focus should be on realistic goals and empowering doctors, parents, teachers and local leaders, not on publicity.”
Dr Hussain suggested introducing a model similar to the COVID-19 vaccination system, where certificates are issued after all doses are completed. “Ultimately,” he said, “the fight against polio must be driven by sincerity, consistency and responsibility, not by endless initiatives that create noise but little impact.”
Read more: KP reports new polio case, total in Pakistan rises to 30
That sincerity is visible in the work of frontline health workers and community volunteers like Shahid Khan, the unsung heroes who brave harsh weather conditions, long distances and sometimes hostility to protect the next generation.
Shafi Ullah Khan, coordinator of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC-KP), said the province is seeing encouraging results. “There has been a drastic decrease in denial cases,” he said. “That reflects the commitment of our teams and the government. Our vision is a polio-free Pakistan and Pakistan, but it requires all citizens and the media to play their part.”
For more than three decades, Pakistan has been at the forefront of one of the world’s most ambitious public health campaigns: the fight to end polio. What began as a global dream to protect all children from paralysis has become a deeply local fight fought in narrow alleys, steep mountains, and overcrowded refugee settlements.
The results speak for themselves. In 2025, Pakistan reported 30 cases of polio nationwide (19 from KP), representing an 80 percent drop from 2019. From hundreds of cases annually in the early 1990s to just a handful today, the country has reduced polio by more than 99 percent. Behind each of those drops are thousands of vaccinators, many of them women, who walk from house to house carrying hopes of salvation in small vials.
However, as health experts warn, the final stretch is always the most difficult. Sporadic detections of the virus in wastewater samples remind authorities that polio remains a step forward where sanitation is poor and awareness is low. “Even one case means the virus is circulating,” a health official said. “We cannot relax until there is no detection, not just zero cases.”
Still, there are reasons for optimism. Across Pakistan, communities, clerics, teachers and journalists are coming together to dispel myths and build trust. Religious leaders are now addressing minbar and mehrab vaccination, encouraging parents to open their doors to health workers. “Every mother’s decision to get vaccinated is an act of patriotism,” a local imam said during a Friday sermon.
In the end, ending polio is more than a medical goal: it is a moral goal. It is about fulfilling the promise that no child, anywhere in Pakistan, will again be crippled by a disease the world knows how to prevent.
