Polio cases climb to 63 in Pakistan

KARACHI: Pakistan has confirmed four new cases of polio, bringing the total number of cases in 2024 to 63, according to the national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).

The cases were reported in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Jacobabad, and Sukkur, marking the first polio case recorded in Sukkur.

The EOC highlighted that this is the ninth case from Dera Ismail Khan and the third from Jacobabad, while the affected child in Sukkur is a boy.

The provincial distribution of polio cases this year includes 26 in Balochistan, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Islamabad.

The highly contagious viral disease predominantly affects children under five, particularly those with weak immunity or inadequate vaccination.

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).

The committee, led by Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Health Services Dr Malik Muhtar Ahmed Barath, includes provincial health directors and representatives from international organisations like WHO, UNICEF, CDC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Its primary focus is to address challenges in high-risk areas and enhance immunisation coverage across the country.

national Coordinator for the EOC, Capt. (retd) Anwar-ul-Haq, announced a nationwide polio vaccination campaign scheduled from December 16 to 22.

The campaign aims to vaccinate 44 million children across 143 districts, although logistical challenges will exclude some districts in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Despite reducing wild polio cases by 99% since the 1990s, Pakistan continues to face significant obstacles. The reintroduction of the YB3A genetic cluster of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in 2023 has spread the virus to 82 districts, complicating eradication efforts.

Key challenges include security issues in regions such as KP and Balochistan, vaccine hesitancy, and demands-based refusals.

Misconceptions and propaganda against polio vaccines further undermine vaccination campaigns, despite evidence that the oral polio vaccine is safe and has eradicated polio in many countries, including several Muslim-majority nations.

Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, urged parents to ensure their children receive polio vaccinations and called on the media to counter vaccine-related misinformation.

She stressed that public cooperation is essential to eliminating this preventable yet debilitating disease.