Pakistan has reduced polio cases by 99.8% over the past three decades, bringing wild poliovirus transmission down to just three reported cases in 2026. Global health leaders visiting Islamabad warn that the next six to 12 months present a critical window to interrupt remaining transmission chains in high-risk areas like southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Global health watchdogs and Pakistani federal officials gathered in Geneva and Islamabad to assess the endgame of the long-running eradication effort. The independent oversight body of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, known as the Independent Monitoring Board, met in Geneva from July 20 to 23 to review global progress. Pakistan remains one of only two countries where wild poliovirus is still endemic, sharing that status exclusively with neighboring Afghanistan.
Assessing the Decline: Figures from the Frontline
At the international oversight meetings, Pakistani delegates detailed a dramatic drop in paralytic cases since the early 1990s, when an estimated 20,000 children were paralyzed each year. Official figures presented to the monitoring board indicate that nationwide cases fell from 74 in 2024 down to 31 in 2025. Only three cases have emerged so far in 2026.
Minister of State for Health Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath told the monitoring board that tighter accountability, data-driven planning, and political leadership drove the downward trend. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif leads the initiative as a whole-of-government mission
spanning federal and provincial jurisdictions, according to officials.
“Over the past year, virus transmission has declined significantly.”
Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Minister of State for Health
Despite the falling case counts, experts note that eradication targets have repeatedly shifted over the past decade.
High-Risk Geographies and Operational Barriers
The remaining virus is no longer widespread across the country. Instead, it is concentrated in difficult geographies, with security challenges in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remaining the primary barrier to reaching every child. Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, addressed the shifting footprint during the high-level briefings.
“The poliovirus footprint is narrowing, but it is now concentrated in the most difficult geographies.”
Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication
To counter these geographic and security hurdles, the national program deployed targeted strategies. These include smaller local vaccination teams, extended-age immunization campaigns, and repeated follow-up visits for children missed during initial sweeps. In Sindh province, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah met with Rotary International President Larry A. The News Pakistan at the CM House on July 27, 2026, to review regional markers.
High-Level Delegation and the Next Six Months
A high-level delegation from the Polio Oversight Board traveled to Islamabad to inspect operations and meet with frontline immunization workers.
During the visit, Dr. Balkhy emphasized that Pakistan maintains access to the necessary scientific tools and an expansive surveillance network featuring more than 12,500 acute flaccid paralysis reporting sites and 127 environmental surveillance sites. However, she stressed that success depends entirely on maintaining momentum through a critical window.
“Discussions with national authorities and experts, together with the available evidence, show that Pakistan has a genuine opportunity to interrupt poliovirus transmission. We have the tools: proven vaccines, the best available science, and the extraordinary commitment of hundreds of thousands of frontline health workers, backed by steadfast Government leadership. But this opportunity will only be realized if we intensify our efforts over the next 6 to 12 months – a period that will be critical.”
Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean
Officials from both national and international bodies continue to emphasize cross-border coordination with Afghanistan, noting that population movement across the shared border requires synchronized vaccination campaigns to permanently shut down transmission channels.
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