In a renewed effort to curb the resurgence of polio, Pakistan will roll out a five-day targeted immunisation drive from July 14 to 18, focusing on high-risk areas in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The campaign aims to vaccinate over 158,000 children under the age of five, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC).

The vaccination drive will specifically cover Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan and Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, and Kolai-Palas districts in KP — regions known for difficult terrain, low vaccine acceptance, and limited health infrastructure.

“Special attention is being given to high-risk union councils using refined strategies to overcome access and community resistance,” the NEOC said in an official statement.

Rising Polio Threat Prompts Urgent Response

Pakistan remains one of only two countries where polio is still endemic, alongside Afghanistan. Despite past successes that brought annual cases down to near zero, the country has seen a troubling increase in 2024 and 2025.

As of July 2025, 14 polio cases have been reported nationwide — including eight in KP, four in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. This follows 74 cases reported in 2024, a significant jump from just six cases in 2023 and one in 2021, raising alarm among health officials and international health partners.

Targeted Vaccination Strategy

The upcoming campaign builds on smaller, area-specific efforts such as the recent operation in KP’s Bannu district, where around 17,500 children were immunised in six high-risk union councils. A similar campaign is scheduled for North Waziristan, another district with a history of persistent transmission.

The government has already conducted three nationwide drives this year—in February, April, and May—reaching approximately 45 million children through a network of over 400,000 frontline health workers, including 225,000 female vaccinators.

Obstacles to Eradication: Misinformation and Security Risks

Despite nearly three decades of polio eradication efforts—Pakistan launched its national programme in 1994—the campaign has faced long-standing barriers. These include deep-rooted vaccine hesitancy, fueled by conspiracy theories and misinformation spread by hardline religious groups. Some clerics falsely claim that polio vaccines are part of a Western agenda or intelligence operations.

Additionally, vaccinators and their police escorts have come under violent attack, particularly in insurgency-hit regions of KP and Balochistan. These threats have not only endangered lives but also forced periodic halts to immunisation activities, leaving vulnerable children unprotected.

The Stakes Remain High

Health experts emphasize that multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) are necessary to build lasting immunity. The virus, which primarily affects children under five, can cause irreversible paralysis and, in severe cases, death. There is no cure for polio—prevention through vaccination is the only protection.

As Pakistan prepares for this critical campaign in its northern regions, officials are urging communities to cooperate fully. The success of this drive, they say, could mark a turning point in the country’s decades-long battle against one of the world’s most preventable diseases.