Pakistan begins last anti-polio vaccination drive of the year after
surge in new cases
[December 15, 2025]
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani authorities on Monday launched the final
nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign of the year, aiming to
protect 45 million children after more than two dozen cases of the
potentially paralyzing disease were reported, officials said.
According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and neighboring
Afghanistan remain the only two countries where polio has not been
eradicated.
Pakistan has reported 30 polio cases since January, down from 74 during
the same period last year, according to a statement from the
government-run Polio Eradication Initiative.
The campaign is the country’s fifth national vaccination drive this
year. Pakistan regularly conducts such campaigns despite persistent
security threats.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal urged parents to cooperate with
vaccination teams. “This is not just about numbers. Each case threatens
a child’s future and the safety of our communities,” Kamal said about
the latest polio cases.
According to the statement, more than 400,000 front-line health workers
are going door-to-door across Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and in
Islamabad, to ensure no child is missed.
Militants have repeatedly targeted vaccination workers and the police
assigned to protect them, falsely claiming the campaigns are a Western
plot to sterilize Muslim children.
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A health worker, right, administers a polio vaccine to a child at a
neighbourhood in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.
(AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
 Authorities have deployed thousands
of police officers to protect vaccination teams following
intelligence reports warning of possible militant attacks.
Since the 1990s, more than 200 polio workers and police officers
assigned to guard them have been killed in such attacks.
“The December polio campaign is synchronized with
Afghanistan, ensuring both countries boost immunity together to
interrupt cross-border transmission,” the statement said.
Officials said Pakistan has made significant progress in containing
the virus.
“We are closer than ever to achieving eradication, and this campaign
represents a vital final push to stop the virus everywhere it still
circulates,” it said.
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