In view of the fear of the dangerous spread of the polio virus in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has called a special meeting on Wednesday in which all four chief ministers and chief secretaries will also participate. According to sources in the National Health Institute, immediate effective measures have become indispensable in this regard after the presence of the polio virus was revealed in environmental samples of more than 75 districts of the country. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the most dangerous type of polio virus has been detected in samples collected from four areas (Diamer, South Waziristan, Lahore and Rawalpindi).
The viral disease polio, which usually targets children under the age of five and often causes disability, has been eradicated from all over the world except Pakistan and Afghanistan, while a total of 74 cases of the disease were reported in Pakistan in 2024. The number of people infected with polio has reached 21 as of August 18, 2025. There is no cure for polio; the only way to prevent it is through vaccination. Several campaigns launched in this regard have not yet yielded the desired results, one reason being terrorist attacks on polio teams and the other reason being negative propaganda and wrong decisions made regarding the effects of the vaccine, which need to be addressed.
According to a meeting held in Karachi under the chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, an oral polio vaccine (medicine given through the mouth) campaign will be launched in September, October and December this year. It is essential that the support of scholars, tribes, communities, and key figures in civil society be effectively sought to make the government's efforts in this regard fruitful.
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