The Federal Minister of Health, Mustafa Kamal, spoke about the growing number of cases of poliovirus in the Sindh, ordering the authorities to submit a detailed report on families refusing vaccinations, the Ministry of Health announced on Sunday. The country recorded six cases of polio in the first three months of 2025, including four reported to the Sindh, according to official data.
During a visit to the Provincial Emergency Operation Center (EOC) in Karachi, Mustafa Kamal called for an urgent action to combat the refusal of the vaccine. “The Minister of Health has expressed his concern about four cases of Sindh polio (reported),” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
“Forty-three thousand patients in the Sindh refused vaccination, of which around 42,000 are from Karachi,” said the Minister of Health. The minister received a briefing on polio campaigns and the challenges that the authorities are confronted. He reiterated that the eradication of polio remains a national priority and urged officials to deploy all the resources available to fight against the disease.
Polio is a highly contagious virus that causes paralysis and has no remedy. Health experts emphasize that multiple doses of oral polio vaccine, as well as routine immunization for children under the age of five, are crucial for immunity.
Pakistan recorded 74 cases of polio last year. The government has scheduled three main polio vaccination training in the first half of 2025, the next rounds scheduled for April and May.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the last two countries where polio is endemic. The efforts to eliminate the virus have been hampered by the disinformation and resistance of the vaccines of certain religious ducts, which claim that vaccination is a foreign conspiracy.
Activist groups have also frequently attacked Polio teams, posing a major challenge to eradication efforts.