“Polio Plunge: Pakistan Cuts Cases by Half in 2025 Amid Tough Fight”

Pakistan achieved a significant breakthrough in its long-running battle against polio in 2025, reporting more than a 50% drop in confirmed cases compared with 2024—a milestone in the country’s eradication efforts despite persistent security challenges and attacks on vaccination teams. 

According to the government-run Polio Eradication Initiative, health authorities recorded only 30 cases of poliovirus nationwide in 2025, down sharply from 74 cases in 2024. This progress is being hailed by public health officials as a key step forward in Pakistan’s decades-long campaign to eliminate a disease that once paralyzed thousands of children each year. 

The steep decline follows intensive vaccination campaigns throughout the year. In the final nationwide drive of 2025, Pakistan targeted around 45 million children, achieving over 98% coverage in many areas, according to health coordinators. Officials also noted that no new polio infections have been reported since September, suggesting that transmission may be waning if efforts are sustained.

However, Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world—alongside Afghanistan—where wild poliovirus continues to circulate, according to health experts. Continued transmission in hard-to-reach regions, including parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, underscores the fragility of the gains and the ongoing risks to eradication. 

The progress comes despite repeated militant attacks on vaccination teams and the security personnel protecting them, particularly in remote northwest areas. Since the 1990s, more than 200 health workers and accompanying officers have been killed in such attacks, highlighting the extraordinary challenges faced by Pakistan’s polio program.

Officials have reaffirmed their commitment to a renewed nationwide vaccination campaign in early 2026, aiming to maintain momentum and push closer to the ultimate goal of a polio-free Pakistan. Sustained immunization and vigilance, however, remain critical to prevent a resurgence of the disease.