ISLAMABAD — The detection of another polio case in a troubled area of northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan has brought the total number of reported cases to 50 this year, according to local authorities on Wednesday.
Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, remains one of the only countries worldwide where polio has not been eradicated.
The increasing incidence of polio, a virus that primarily affects children under the age of five, is obstructing the nation’s ongoing efforts to eradicate the disease completely.
The most recent case was identified in Tank, located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an area known for frequent attacks on polio workers and police engaged in vaccination campaigns, as reported by the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication.
This year, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the volatile province of Balochistan—both of which border Afghanistan—have reported the highest number of polio cases, with 23 confirmed cases recorded, which is a significant rise from six cases noted in 2023, according to statistics from the World Health Organization.
Hamid Jafari, WHO’s director for the Eastern Mediterranean region, indicated last week that the forced return of Afghan nationals from Pakistan has significantly hindered polio eradication efforts, resulting in considerable and unpredictable population movements across both countries.
“The virus traveled with these moving populations,” he mentioned in a virtual discussion organized by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
In addition to this, the rise in polio cases can also be attributed to the ongoing militancy impacting various regions of the country.
Pakistan continues to conduct vaccination drives against polio, even in the face of militant assaults on health workers and police meant to ensure their safety.
Militants often target these personnel, accusing them of carrying out Western agendas to sterilize children through vaccination campaigns.
Since the 1990s, over 200 polio workers and police assigned to protect them have lost their lives, according to health officials.
Just earlier this month, a tragic incident occurred when a bomb, attached to a motorcycle, detonated close to a vehicle carrying police officers tasked with safeguarding polio workers in Balochistan, resulting in the deaths of nine people, including five children.