ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s national health authorities have announced a remarkable 59% reduction in polio cases for 2025, marking significant progress in the country’s prolonged eradication campaign. Official data reveals only 30 confirmed polio infections throughout the year, compared to 74 cases documented during the previous year’s reporting period.
The encouraging statistics were released by the government-operated Polio Eradication Initiative following the conclusion of Pakistan’s final nationwide vaccination drive targeting approximately 45 million children. Anwarul Haq, Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, confirmed to international media that no fresh infections have been detected anywhere across the country since September 2025.
This epidemiological achievement comes despite persistent security challenges that have plagued vaccination efforts for decades. Militant groups continue to target health workers and their security details based on conspiracy theories alleging vaccination campaigns represent Western plots to sterilize Muslim children. Since the 1990s, over 200 polio workers and protecting police officers have been killed in such attacks.
Health authorities reported reaching over 98% of the target population during the most recent vaccination campaign. However, access limitations remain particularly acute in certain districts of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where security constraints and community resistance continue to hamper immunization activities.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan maintain the dubious distinction of being the world’s only remaining countries where wild poliovirus transmission persists. Health officials acknowledge both the substantial momentum gained and the lingering vulnerabilities in the decades-long eradication effort. While vaccination coverage has dramatically improved and case numbers have plummeted, low-level transmission in inaccessible regions continues to pose significant risks of resurgence.
The government has announced plans to launch the first anti-polio campaign of the new year during February’s first week, maintaining continuous pressure on the virus through sustained immunization efforts.