4 more polio cases push Pakistan’s tally to 63 this year

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan's polio case count for this year has reached 63 with four new cases detected in the country’s northwest and southern provinces, health authorities announced Friday.

The cases, confirmed by the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), involve three girls and one boy in the DI Khan and Tank districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Jacobabad and Sukkur districts of Sindh province, said the Health Ministry in a statement.

This is the ninth polio case from DI Khan, third from Tank, third from Jacobabad, and first from Sukkur this year.

Despite global efforts to eradicate polio, Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only countries where the virus remains endemic.

This year, polio cases have been reported across several provinces, with 28 cases in Balochistan, 17 in Sindh, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one each in Punjab province and Islamabad, the capital. Last year, only six cases were recorded nationwide.

Pakistan continues to be under travel restrictions linked to polio imposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 2014, the WHO has required all travelers from Pakistan to present a valid polio vaccination certificate before departing the country.

Polio vaccination efforts have been hampered by opposition from some militant groups, particularly in the border regions of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These groups often view the campaigns as part of a broader anti-Muslim and Western conspiracy, and many vaccinators, especially women, have received death threats.

Local media reports indicate that approximately 150 people associated with the polio drive have been killed across Pakistan since 2012.