Pakistan reports only one case of polio so far

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported only one case of polio so far in 2026, a figure being cautiously hailed as a breakthrough, with the lone infection detected in District Sujawal in Sindh, officials said on Wednesday. The number marks a steep fall from 74 cases in 2024 and 31 in 2025, underscoring what officials describe as a hard-won but still fragile improvement in the country’s long-running battle against the virus. The update came during a high-level review meeting on the national polio eradication programme, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where he was briefed on both progress and remaining risks. The prime minister reiterated the government’s resolve to eliminate polio completely, saying Pakistan remained determined to eradicate the crippling virus once and for all. He also praised frontline polio workers, calling their continued efforts “critical” to sustaining recent gains amid operational and security challenges. Officials briefed the meeting on the latest situation and ongoing anti-polio measures, highlighting a broad-based decline in virus circulation across the country. According to the briefing, no cases have been reported this year from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. They said the number of polio-affected districts had dropped sharply, from 67 in the first quarter of 2025 to 23 in the same period of 2026. Nationwide household coverage in vaccination campaigns stood at 98 per cent, a figure officials linked to improved outreach and coordination. Progress was also reported in high-risk areas. In southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, better access and stronger campaign execution had reduced the number of children missing polio drops. In the Quetta block, they added, local transmission had declined markedly, suggesting tighter containment of the virus. In Karachi, 10 out of 12 environmental samples collected in March tested negative for poliovirus, a development officials described as encouraging, though not conclusive. The briefing further noted that no case had been reported from District Dera Ismail Khan since September 2025. In Bannu, the number of high-risk union councils has dropped dramatically from 62 to just six, reflecting what officials called “sustained operational gains. ” Officials also told the meeting that a strategy is being developed to integrate the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) at federal and provincial levels. Work is also under way to link certain components of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) with anti-polio efforts to improve vaccine compliance in vulnerable communities. The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Attaullah Tarar, Mustafa Kamal, and Bilal Azhar Kayani, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq, and senior officials. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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