WHO sees ‘historic opportunity’ to end polio in Pakistan

Dubai: Pakistan has a “historic opportunity” to interrupt wild poliovirus transmission and move closer than ever to eradicating polio, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said after a high-level international delegation visited the country to assess progress and reaffirm support for the government’s eradication campaign.

The delegation, led by WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy and members of the Polio Oversight Board (POB), described the next six to 12 months as a critical window for eliminating the disease, urging Pakistan to sustain and intensify vaccination campaigns and surveillance efforts.

The optimism comes as Pakistan has recorded just three polio cases in 2026, with virus transmission now largely restricted to southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Over the past three decades, the country has achieved a 99.8 per cent reduction in polio cases, bringing it closer than ever to ending a disease that once paralysed thousands of children every year.

“Discussions with national authorities and experts, together with the available evidence, show that Pakistan has a genuine opportunity to interrupt poliovirus transmission,” Dr Balkhy said.

“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 realised if we intensify our efforts over the next six to 12 months – a period that will be critical.”

She added that the cost of failing to eliminate polio would far outweigh the investment needed to eradicate the disease permanently.

Dr Balkhy praised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistani government for adopting a whole-of-government approach to the eradication campaign. “I commend Prime Minister Sharif and the Government of Pakistan for their strong leadership and the whole-of-government commitment to protecting every child from polio – not only in Pakistan, but also across the Region and the world,” she said.

She stressed that sustained political commitment, alongside the dedication of frontline health workers and communities, would be essential to ending transmission.

The WHO chief was part of a delegation led by Mike McGovern, Chair of the Polio Oversight Board and Rotary International PolioPlus Committee.

The mission also included UNICEF Asia Pacific Regional Director Sanjay Wijesekera, KSrelief Senior Adviser Dr Ziad Memish, Gavi CEO Dr Sania Nishtar, Gates Foundation Global Development President Dr Chris Elias, and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Polio Team Lead Dr Omotayo Bolu.

The delegation met Prime Minister Sharif, Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, and Pakistan Army’s Engineer-in-Chief Lieutenant General Kashif Nazir.

They also met female frontline vaccinators, who make up a majority of Pakistan’s more than 400,000 polio workers, around 60 per cent of whom are women, delivering repeated nationwide immunisation campaigns.

Before arriving in Pakistan, the delegation visited Afghanistan, which has reported seven polio cases this year. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus is still endemic, making cross-border coordination essential.

Dr Balkhy emphasised that both countries form a single epidemiological block and must work closely to stop virus transmission.

“As a single epidemiological block, Pakistan and Afghanistan cooperation is vital to interrupt transmission together,” she said.

She also called for stronger links between routine immunisation programmes and emergency polio campaigns to ensure the virus does not return once transmission is interrupted.

“No child in the Region – or the world – will be safe until every child is safe,” she said.

Pakistan’s eradication programme is supported by one of the world’s largest disease surveillance systems. The country operates more than 12,500 acute flaccid paralysis reporting sites and 127 environmental surveillance sites, backed by the WHO-accredited Regional Reference Polio Laboratory.

The Polio Oversight Board, the highest decision-making body of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), said the progress made in Pakistan demonstrates that eradication is achievable, provided momentum is maintained during the coming months.