PM Shehbaz reaffirms govt’s resolve to eradicate polio from country
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed the government’s resolve to eradicate polio from the country, noting encouraging progress as only one case has been reported so far in 2026
Presiding over a review meeting on polio eradication, the prime minister appreciated efforts of anti-polio teams working across the country and reiterated that eliminating the disease remains a national priority, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.
PM Shehbaz stressed the need for sustained coordination between federal and provincial authorities to rid the country of polio.
The meeting was informed that only a single polio case has been reported this year from Sujawal district, compared with 74 cases found in 2024 and 31 cases in 2025, reflecting a significant downward trend.
No cases have been reported so far in 2026 from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, or Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was further informed that the number of polio-affected districts has declined from 67 in the first quarter of 2025 to 23 in the first quarter of 2026. National household coverage during anti-polio campaigns remained consistently high at 98 per cent.
The meeting was informed that improved access and enhanced vaccination efforts in southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had significantly reduced the number of children missing polio drops.
A substantial decline in local transmission of the poliovirus was also recorded in Quetta.
In Karachi, encouraging environmental surveillance results showed that poliovirus was not detected in 10 out of 12 environmental samples collected in March.
Similarly, no polio case has been reported in Dera Ismail Khan district since September 2025, while the number of high-risk union councils in Bannu has dropped sharply from 62 to just six.
Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2026
