The spread of polio in Pakistan is increasing despite government efforts to combat the virus throughout nation.
On Wednesday, officials in Pakistan said the country has seen a sharp increase in new polio cases since March. This surge is raising concerns as the country pushes forward with efforts to eliminate the disease.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Anwarul Haq of the National Emergency Operation Center for Polio Eradication said that Pakistan has recorded 32 new cases of polio since March.
Haq voiced optimism that the situation could improve in the months ahead as Pakistan is set to roll out a new nationwide anti-polio campaign on October 28. The initiative aims to vaccinate 32 million children across the country.
“We are conducting joint case investigations, preparing to implement high-quality vaccination rounds and providing high-risk communities with integrated health services to build children’s immunity,” Haq said, according to the AP.
Security personnnel gather as they block a road during a protest in Bannu district in the northwestern border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan on September 13, 2024. On Wednesday, officials in Pakistan said that the polio virus has been spreading rapidly since March.
KARIM ULLAH/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images
Despite regular polio vaccination campaigns, Pakistan faces ongoing threats against health workers and the police who protect them. Militants continue to spread false claims that the immunization efforts are part of a Western plot to sterilize children.
The majority of the recent polio cases have been concentrated in Pakistan’s northwest and the southwestern province of Balochistan, which shares a border with Afghanistan. The surge comes after the Taliban government abruptly halted a door-to-door vaccination drive in Afghanistan last month.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where polio, a potentially deadly and paralyzing disease, continues to spread unchecked. Pakistani officials warn that Afghanistan’s decision to halt its vaccination campaign could have serious consequences for neighboring countries and beyond, potentially fueling the spread of the virus across borders.
Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts receive significant backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has committed $1.2 billion to the global fight against the disease.
Ayesha Raza Farooq, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s key representative for polio eradication, called on parents to make sure their children receive the vaccine, emphasizing the importance of protecting the next generation from the disease.
The AP said Farooq stressed that the recent surge in polio cases “should serve as a wake-up call for all parents and communities.” She warned that children are being endangered due to widespread “misperceptions about the vaccine.”
The recent surge in polio cases follows a disturbing incident last month in southern Sindh province, where a polio worker was raped during a vaccination drive. Authorities have since arrested the suspects involved, according to local police.
According to local police official Mohammad Saifal, the female care worker was raped by three suspects, who took turns assaulting her. The other two attackers remain at large. A local police chief and a district administrator were fired for negligence following the attack, for failing to provide the polio worker with adequate security. Police have been stationed at her relatives’ home, where she is currently staying to protect her.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
