PM reaffirms commitment to eradicating polio as cases fall sharply by 2026

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed the government’s determination to completely eradicate polio from Pakistan and noted encouraging progress as only one case has been reported so far in 2026.

Chairing a high-level review meeting on polio eradication at the Prime Minister House, the Prime Minister appreciated the tireless efforts of anti-polio teams working across the country and reiterated that eliminating the disease remains a national priority.

The Prime Minister emphasized that sustained coordination between federal and provincial authorities, frontline workers and partner organizations would remain essential to achieve the goal of a polio-free Pakistan.

During the briefing, meeting participants were informed that only one polio case had been reported in Sujawal district this year, compared to 74 cases in 2024 and 31 cases in 2025, reflecting a significant downward trend.

No cases have been reported so far in 2026 from Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan or Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials further informed meeting members that the number of polio-affected districts decreased from 67 in the first quarter of 2025 to 23 in the first quarter of 2026. National household coverage during anti-polio campaigns remained consistently high at 98%.

Participants were told that better access and increased vaccination efforts in southern KP districts had significantly reduced the number of children lacking polio vaccines. A substantial decline in local poliovirus transmission was also recorded in Quetta block.

Read more: The persistent threat of polio

In Karachi, encouraging results from environmental surveillance showed that no poliovirus was detected in 10 of 12 environmental samples collected in March. Similarly, no polio case has been reported in Dera Ismail Khan district since September 2025, while the number of high-risk union councils in Bannu has been drastically reduced from 62 to just six.

Members were also informed that a strategy was being finalized to integrate the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) with the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) at the federal and provincial levels.

Efforts were also being made to link certain Benazir Income Support Program interventions with anti-polio measures to further strengthen outreach.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister of National Health Services Mustafa Kamal, Minister of State for National Health Services Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani and Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq along with senior officials.

Despite significant progress in recent years, Pakistan remains one of the few countries in the world where polio continues to cripple children, and health authorities warn that continued vigilance and public cooperation are essential to stopping transmission.