Islamabad : The health officials on Tuesday reported two more polio cases, bringing the year’s tally to 26.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed two children from Karachi East and Sujawal districts of Sindh have been stricken by the crippling effects of polio.
This is the first case of the year from Karachi East and Sujawal where environmental samples have shown the presence of poliovirus in recent months, indicating that it is circulating in communities and posing a terrible risk to the well being of children.
“It is heartbreaking that Pakistani children are still being threatened by a disease that can be easily prevented with the help of an easily available polio vaccine,” said Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ms Ayesha Raza Farooq.
“There is no cure for polio. Once a child is paralyzed, it is forever and irreversible.”
Fortunately, repeated polio vaccination can keep children protected from the paralytic effects of this horrible disease, she said.
“The decisions we take today are extremely critical to protect the future of our children.”
“I urge all parents, caretakers, teachers, community elders and neighbors to understand the urgency of the situation and take immediate steps to get all children in their care vaccinated immediately.”
Ms Ayesha added, “One child affected by polio, means that hundreds of children around them can be silent carriers of the virus.”
“No child anywhere is safe until all children in Pakistan are repeatedly vaccinated for polio, building a wall of protection so the virus cannot break through.”
The Pakistan Polio Programme is implementing a strategic roadmap to control virus spread and interrupt transmission by mid-2025.
In consultation with all provinces, this strategy is focused on reaching every child, especially in polio high risk areas, improving campaign quality, building community trust, vaccinating all mobile and migrant populations, and strengthening management and oversight for better outcomes.
As part of this roadmap, the Programme concluded a mass vaccination campaign last month that successfully reached 33 million children under five in 115 districts of the country.
A second mass vaccination is being planned from October 28.
Muhammad Anwarul Haq, the Coordinator of the National Emergency Center for Polio Eradication, said that the Programme is working with the provincial team to plan effective campaign strategies that reach every child in the province with the vaccine.
“Together we must unite against polio as a nation and we must bring forward all our children for polio vaccination during every campaign and through routine immunization to collectively defeat this terrible disease,” he said.
Pakistan has reported 26 polio cases this year including 15 from Balochistan, seven from Sindh, two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
