A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in a school, in Karachi, Pakistan, on September 1, 2025
| Photo Credit: AP
One more poliovirus case was reported in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday (September 1, 2025), taking the total number of cases in the country this year to 24, the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed.
According to the NIH, the latest case was detected in a 20-month-old in Tank district, taking the province’s tally to 16.
Last week, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government launched a polio immunisation campaign, with emphasis on the southern region of the province, where polio teams face the highest resistance.
The latest case has taken the total cases recorded in 2025 to 24, according to NIH — including 16 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan.
“A comprehensive strategic roadmap for polio eradication in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been developed and finalised,” said the NIH.
“The plan incorporates micro-planning innovations, gap analyses, and targeted strategies and interventions to address persistent challenges,” the institute further added.
To combat the growing cases, a campaign will be carried out in the south of the province, set to run from September 15 to 18, as per the NIH.
The three-day drive aims to target Bannu, Bajaur, and seven districts of the Dera Ismail Khan division, said a team of the immunisation campaign last week.
In its statement, the NIH appealed to parents to cooperate with polio teams and complete their child’s immunisation course.
Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic.
Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have impacted the pace of progress.
Published – September 01, 2025 06:52 pm IST
