A new polio case has been reported in Qila Abdullah, raising Balochistan’s total to 27 this year, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH).
The case was confirmed shortly after the nationwide anti-polio campaign, which ran from December 16 to December 22, concluded. This is the seventh polio case reported from Qila Abdullah in 2024.
Pakistan has reported a total of 65 polio cases this year. Of these, 27 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio is still endemic. The disease primarily affects children under five, causing lifelong paralysis in some cases.
Despite global eradication efforts, challenges such as inadequate vaccination planning, vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and security issues continue to hamper progress.
To curb the spread of the virus, health officials have announced a sub-national vaccination campaign starting on December 30. The campaign will target all 36 districts of Balochistan, aiming to vaccinate children under five years of age.
Health authorities emphasize that polio has no cure and can only be prevented through vaccination. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide children with high immunity against the disease.
Officials have urged parents to cooperate with vaccination teams, stressing that eradicating polio requires collective effort and sustained commitment.