The regional reference laboratory for the eradication of polio at the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed two new cases of wild poliovirus, bearing the total number of cases reported in Pakistan this year at 23.
According to official sources, the new cases have been detected in southern Khyber -Pakhtunkhwa (KP) – one of District Tank and District North Waziristan.
The children affected include a 16-month-old girl from the Union Mullazai council in Tank, and a two-year-old girl from the Miran Shah-3 Council in northern Waziristan.
With these latest detections, the province of KP represents 15 of the 23 total cases reported in 2025. Sindh reported six cases, while Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan recorded one case each.
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Health officials have reiterated that polio is a very infectious and incurable disease, often leading to permanent paralysis in children.
They stressed that only reliable protection remains the repeated administration of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) to each child under five during each national campaign, as well as complete membership in the calendars of routine immunization.
While recognizing the progress made in the reduction of polio cases in recent years, the authorities have expressed their concern in the face of the persistent transmission of the virus, especially in certain parts of the southern KP.
They attributed continuous risk to children in difficult to access areas and communities with low vaccination acceptance.
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To approach the situation, the National and Provincial Emergency Operations (EOC) centers have intensified efforts to ensure high quality vaccination campaigns.
The National Emergency Operations Center has finalized a complete vaccination calendar for the next low -transmission transmission season, aimed at interrupting the new propagation of the virus.
The first campaign of the season should take place from September 1 to 7, with a targeted campaign in the south of the KP to start on September 15. More than 28 million children under the age of five are expected to be vaccinated during this door to the national door campaign.
“The objective is to ensure that no child is left behind,” said a senior official, stressing that “a rapid increase in immunity levels in high -risk areas is essential to interrupt transmission”.
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According to a report published in May 2025, 17,136 cases of refusal in Peshawar – the greatest number of people refusing to allow the administration of polio vaccines to their children.
The other areas include Mardan, 6,812 cases; Bannu, 10,781, Lakki Marwat, 976; Di Khan, 2,128; and Kohat, 1 009.
Shafiullah Khan, the EOC coordinator in KP, said that awareness campaigns across the media played a vital role, and the number of parents refusing vaccination had significantly reduced.
“Once there have been thousands of refusals, there are only a few areas left, and efforts are underway to approach them too,” Khan said. He recognized the challenges in the fight against polio, noting a lack of access to communication and continuous security problems in tribal districts as major concerns.
