Pakistan achieves 99.8% drop in polio cases since 1994, WHO hails progress

• WHO credits science, commitment and collective action for gains as annual cases fall from around 20,000 to 31 in 2025

• Only three polio cases reported so far this year as Pakistan and Afghanistan remain only two endemic countries globally

• Vaccine misinformation and resistance continue to challenge eradication drive

• Over 200 polio workers and security personnel killed since 1990s during campaigns

 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has achieved a dramatic 99.8% reduction in polio cases since launching its national eradication programme in 1994, with annual infections declining from around 20,000 to just 31 cases in 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

According to official data, Pakistan has so far reported three polio cases in the current year.

In a post on X, WHO Pakistan said: “Pakistan has reduced polio cases by 99.8% — from 20,000 cases a year in 1994 to just 31 in 2025.”

“This is what science, commitment, and collective action can achieve,” it added.

Health authorities said 74 polio cases were reported in 2024, reflecting continued progress but also highlighting ongoing challenges in complete eradication.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects children under the age of five and can cause irreversible paralysis. Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where the virus is still endemic, despite decades of global eradication efforts.

Pakistan launched its national polio eradication programme in 1994 and has since conducted repeated nationwide vaccination campaigns targeting millions of children.

However, eradication efforts continue to face persistent obstacles, including vaccine misinformation and resistance from some hard-line religious groups, who falsely claim that immunisation campaigns are part of Western conspiracies aimed at sterilising Muslim children or conducting espionage.

Militant groups have also repeatedly targeted polio workers and security personnel assigned to protect vaccination teams, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

According to health and security officials, more than 200 polio workers and police personnel tasked with protecting vaccination teams have been killed in Pakistan since the 1990s.