Pakistan’s polio cases decline sharply as vaccination efforts intensify in high-risk areas

Pakistan reports a significant decrease in polio cases from 74 in 2024 to just four in 2026, with ongoing nationwide vaccination drives targeting high-risk districts to eliminate the virus entirely.

Pakistan’s fight against polio has gathered pace, with official figures showing cases falling from 74 in 2024 to 31 in 2025 and to just four so far in 2026. Health authorities also say the share of positive environmental surveillance samples has dropped below 10 per cent, a sign that the virus is becoming more contained even as it remains a threat in stubbornly affected areas.

The update was presented at a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Committee on the National Taskforce for Polio Eradication, chaired in Islamabad by Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Ahsan Iqbal. At the meeting, Iqbal formally launched the latest nationwide vaccination drive and said the government would continue until poliovirus transmission was fully stopped.

Of this year’s four cases, three have been reported in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, underlining the concentration of risk in a handful of districts. Earlier this year, Pakistan’s Polio Eradication Initiative said it had vaccinated more than 44.8 million children in its second nationwide campaign, while a separate sub-national round in May reached more than 18.6 million children in 79 high-risk districts, according to official releases.

Iqbal said polio remained a national responsibility and urged parents to ensure children receive every dose, while also pressing religious scholars, community leaders and young people to help counter misinformation. Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal praised frontline teams and provincial authorities, saying the progress was encouraging but that the country could claim success only once transmission reached zero. Representatives of the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the World Bank, Rotary and Pakistan’s polio partners attended the meeting, as the government prepares another round of targeted vaccination in high-risk districts later this month.