With four more cases reported, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan has reached 63 this year, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
As reported by Geo News on Friday, new cases were detected in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Jacobabad, and Sukkur; Sukkur saw the first-ever polio case there. The EOC further elaborated that this includes the ninth case from Dera Ismail Khan, the third from Jacobabad and a boy from Sukkur.
This year, the lead has been taken by Balochistan with 26 cases; it is followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 18 cases, 17 cases in Sindh, and one case each in Punjab and Islamabad.
Polio is a contagious viral disease that usually affects children under five years of age, especially when their immunity is low or not well vaccinated. Of the total number of polio-affected children in 2024, more than 60 percent had never been administered routine immunization doses.
In response, health authorities have established a high-level committee to enhance coordination between the Polio Eradication Initiative and the Expanded Programme on Immunisation.
The committee is headed by Dr. Malik Muhtar Ahmed Barath, Coordinator to the Prime Minister for Health Services, and comprises provincial directors of health and representatives from international organizations such as WHO, UNICEF, CDC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
