Islamabad, September 27, 2024 – Pakistan has reported the 24th polio case of the year as the country grapples with a poliovirus outbreak that is threatening children’s wellbeing and has prompted urgent appeals from high-level health authorities for parents and caregivers to ensure vaccination of all children in their care.  

The latest child to be affected by this paralytic disease is a 29-month-old boy in Hyderabad district of Sindh province, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health notified on Friday.

This is the second polio case to be reported from Hyderabad where a case was earlier reported in August. Pakistan has now reported 24 polio cases in 2024 – 15 from Balochistan, five from Sindh, two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.   

Expressing sadness at the increasing number of paralytic polio cases, Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ms Ayesha Raza Farooq has called on parents and communities to fulfil their duty of care and make sure that polio vaccination is given as a priority for children.

“Polio has no cure, yet it is entirely preventable with the help of an easily accessible vaccine that the government provides to families at their doorsteps,” she said. “As parents, grandparents, guardians and communities, we have a moral and religious responsibility towards our children to ensure that they have every opportunity to live their life in the best of health.”

She added: “Poliovirus will not discriminate. It will attack any vulnerable child it finds anywhere. We must urgently ensure that every child under our care is repeatedly receiving the polio vaccine and has received all doses of routine immunization so that they are strong enough to fight off polio.”

The Pakistan Polio Programme is implementing a comprehensive roadmap to stem the spread of the virus and interrupt its transmission by mid-2025. This roadmap, made in consultation with all provinces, is focused on ensuring access to every child in polio high risk areas, plugging operational gaps, building community trust through open communication and polio vaccination and integrated health service delivery, mapping and vaccinating all mobile and migrant populations, and strengthening management and oversight to improve all aspects of polio eradication activities.

A recently concluded polio campaign in September was part of this strategy, during which nearly 33 million children under five were given the crucial polio vaccine in 115 districts of the country. Two more mass vaccination campaigns are planned before the end of the year to bolster immunity in children, particularly those that are most vulnerable.

Highlighting the critical role of parents and communities in protecting children from this crippling disease, Muhammad Anwarul Haq, Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, said: “Our dedicated polio workers bring the vaccine to your doorsteps and represent the hope of a healthier future for our children. I urge all parents and communities to welcome these frontline heroes among them and bring their children forward every time to receive the polio vaccine.”

Note for Editor:

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased. Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio-free. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two remaining polio endemic countries globally. 

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