Pakistan reports 99% drop in polio cases, urges more investment at Gavi board meeting
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded a 99% decline in polio cases, Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal told the Gavi board meeting on Thursday, calling for more investments to "train and retain" vaccinators.
The global vaccine organization Gavi helps low-income countries buy vaccines to protect against killer diseases. Around one billion children have been immunized as a result of Gavi's work across the world since 2000.
Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure, making prevention through vaccination critical. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children, are essential to build strong immunity against the virus.
According to Pakistan's polio program, 10 cases have been confirmed so far this year, with 74 reported in 2024.
Environmental surveillance carried out earlier this year has detected the virus in 272 sewage samples collected from 127 testing sites across 68 districts, indicating ongoing transmission.
"Pakistan has witnessed over a 99% decline in polio cases — a testament to our coordinated strategy, dedication of frontline workers and the collective efforts of all stakeholders," the health ministry quoted Kamal as saying following a virtual joint session of Gavi and Pakistan's Polio Oversight Board.
However, the statement did not specify the starting point for this decline.
"Strengthening the integrated immunization system requires continued support from both Gavi and the Polio Oversight Board,' he added. 'We need additional investments to ensure the training and retention of vaccinators."
He called for implementing a joint strategy to reach zero-dose children and mobilizing biker teams to access far-flung areas.
The health minister said "coordinated microplanning and effective monitoring" between polio and the Expanded Program on Immunization was improving immunization coverage and delivering results.
Kamal said polio eradication remained the government's top priority, highlighting how Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally oversees the eradication efforts.
Pakistan, one of the last two countries where polio remains endemic, has made significant progress in curbing the virus, with annual cases dropping from around 20,000 in the early 1990s to just eight in 2018.
The country reported six cases in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan launched its polio eradication program in 1994, but efforts have repeatedly been hindered by widespread vaccine misinformation and resistance from hardline religious groups who claim immunization campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslim children or a front for espionage.
Militant groups have also targeted polio workers and their security escorts, often with deadly attacks that have hampered vaccination drives, particularly in the country's remote and conflict-prone regions.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the poliovirus remains endemic.
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