ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has vaccinated more than 42.2 million children in the first four days of its final nationwide polio campaign of 2025, health authorities said on Friday, as the drive entered its fifth day amid renewed efforts to curb a virus that remains endemic in only two countries worldwide.

The nationwide campaign, running from Dec. 15 to 21, targets children under the age of five and is being conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which oversees polio eradication efforts.

Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries where wild poliovirus transmission has never been interrupted, keeping global eradication efforts at risk. The virus, which can cause irreversible paralysis, has no cure and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination.

“The final national anti-polio campaign of 2025 is continuing successfully on its fifth day,” the National EOC said, adding that more than 42.2 million children have been vaccinated during the first four days of the drive.

Provincial data released by the National EOC showed that around 22.3 million children had been vaccinated in Punjab province, more than 9.417 million in Sindh, approximately 6.692 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and about 2.384 million in Balochistan. In Islamabad, over 450,000 children received polio drops, while more than 274,000 were vaccinated in Gilgit-Baltistan and over 714,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“The polio campaign is being conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” the National EOC said, noting that more than 400,000 polio workers are going door to door across the country to administer vaccines.

The campaign comes as Pakistan reported 30 polio cases so far in 2025, underscoring the fragility of progress against the virus. Pakistan recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp rise from six cases in 2023, reflecting setbacks caused by vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and access challenges in high-risk areas.

Health officials say insecurity remains a major obstacle. Polio workers and their security escorts have repeatedly been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in parts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan, complicating efforts to reach every child. Natural disasters, including flooding, have further disrupted vaccination campaigns in recent years.

“Parents and communities are urged to fully cooperate with polio workers,” the National EOC said, stressing that every child under the age of five must be given polio drops during the national campaign.

Pakistan has dramatically reduced polio prevalence since the 1990s, when annual cases exceeded 20,000. Health authorities warn, however, that without sustained access to children in underserved and conflict-affected areas, eradication will remain out of reach.