Pakistan’s polio tally hits 65 after another child diagnosed in Balochistan

ISLAMABAD: Poliovirus continues to cripple children in Pakistan as another child was diagnosed with the crippling disease in Balochistan taking the national tally to 65.

 According to the officials, a one-and-a-half-year-old child was affected with poliovirus in Balochistan’s Killa Abdullah district. The latest case takes the total number of cases from the province to 27.

Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, and the number of cases on a yearly basis had significantly dropped in the country, until the recent spike in cases.

Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme explains that polio is a “paralysing” disease with “no cure” and “the completion of the routine vaccination for all children under the age of five” just provides them “high immunity against this terrible disease”.

Other than Balochistan, as many as 18 cases have been reported in Sindh this year which is followed by one case each in Islamabad and Punjab.

The country has launched multiple vaccination drives including the one that kicked off last week which aims at inoculating about 44 million children across the country.

According to Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq, around 400,000 polio workers across 143 districts of the country will visit every household to administer polio drops to children below five years.

However, the country’s rigorous efforts towards polio eradication face significant challenges, particularly in areas where insecurity, misinformation, and parental refusals hinder vaccination campaigns.

With over 60% of children affected by polio in 2024 having not received routine immunisation, health authorities established a high-level committee to improve coordination between the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) and the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).