ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported two more polio cases of 2025 as the tally reached 23 in the ongoing year so far.
According to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, the two new poliovirus cases were confirmed from south Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one from district Tank and the other from district North Waziristan.
The report further stated the polio cases include a 16-month-old girl from Union Council Mullazai, District Tank, and a 24-month-old girl from Union Council Miran Shah-3, District North Waziristan.
After the recent rise in polio cases, the total number of deadly virus cases in Pakistan in 2025 has reached 23, including 15 cases from KP, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan.
Polio is a highly infectious and dangerous disease that can result in lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for every child under five during each campaign, alongside timely completion of all routine immunizations.
It is pertinent to mention here that India, after facing defeat in a conventional war with Pakistan, reportedly started creating hurdles in the supply of vaccines to Pakistan, as per a Jang report.
According to sources in the Ministry of Health, a major Indian pharmaceutical company is delaying the delivery of vaccines purchased by UNICEF for Pakistan. UNICEF had procured more than 17 million doses of various vaccines for Pakistan, with a total value of around Rs27 billion.
Of this amount, UNICEF covered 60 per cent of the cost, while Pakistan paid the remaining 40 per cent. The vaccines were bought following Pakistan’s request to UNICEF, which then placed the order with the Serum Institute of India.
Officials say the order included BCG for childhood tuberculosis, pentavalent, pneumonia, polio, typhoid, measles and rubella, and cholera vaccines.
Specifically, over 3 million doses of BCG, more than 2 million pentavalent doses, over 2 million injectable polio doses, 1.45 million pneumococcal doses, 3.1 million typhoid doses, 2.8 million measles doses, and over 3 million cholera doses were purchased from India.
The sources revealed that India was supposed to supply the vaccines to UNICEF in early July. However, once the Indian company learned the order was intended for Pakistan, it allegedly began using delaying tactics. They further claim that India was initially unaware that the vaccines were for Pakistan when UNICEF placed the order.
