PESHAWAR: A nine-month-old girl has been diagnosed with polio in the Safi Tehsil of Mohmand district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, marking the province’s first reported case of 2024. This brings Pakistan’s total to 20 polio cases this year, according to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department.
The affected infant had received only two doses of the polio vaccine. In response to this case, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has ordered the suspension of the relevant District Health Officer (DHO) and the EPI Coordinator due to their “negligence.”
Earlier, on September 18, a two-year-old boy from Quetta was also confirmed to have contracted the virus, as reported by the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) for polio. This case marked the 18th polio diagnosis in Pakistan this year, with 14 of those cases emerging from Balochistan.
Dr. Ayesha Raza Farooq, NEOC Focal Person, noted that disruptions in polio vaccination campaigns in certain areas of Balochistan have allowed the virus to spread. She emphasized the critical need for multiple doses of the vaccine to reach every child to aid eradication efforts.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) reported that a total of 45 polio cases have been recorded across Pakistan in the past four years. In 2021, only one case was reported, while the numbers rose to 20 in 2022 and eight in 2023. Thus far, 16 cases have been confirmed in 2024.
Funding for the National Polio Eradication Program has also seen changes: $180 million was allocated in 2022, increasing to $187 million in 2023, while $80 million has been set aside for the ongoing year.
