PESHAWAR: Japan has donated $3.1 million to eradicate polio in Pakistan and ensure millions of children remain safe from the crippling disease, the Pakistan Polio Programme said on Wednesday, as Islamabad desperately looks to grapple with an alarming surge in cases of the infection this year. 
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. The country has so far reported 59 cases of the infection this year. 
The nation’s polio eradication campaign has hit serious problems with a spike in reported cases this year that have prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease.
“Today, the Government of Japan reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts by supporting the program with a generous donation of $3.1 million,” the Pakistan Polio Programme said in a press release. 
“This funding will ensure millions of children are protected from this crippling disease in 2025, leading us closer to a polio-free Pakistan.”
Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Farooq expressed her gratitude to the Japanese government and highlighted the decades-long partnership between both nations in the “critical fight.”
“This generous grant reflects not only financial support but also the profound bond between our nations, rooted in a shared commitment to health equity and safeguarding of future generations,” she said.
“A heartfelt thanks to the Government and people of Japan, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), and UNICEF for their enduring commitment to this life-saving cause. Together, we will achieve our goal of ensuring no child is left behind.”
Charge d’ Affairs ad interim of Japan Takano Shuichi, JICA Chief Representative Miyata Naoaki, UNICEF representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil and other officials from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and Pakistan Polio Program team were in attendance during the grant ceremony, the statement added.
Of the 59 cases reported in 2024, 26 are from Balochistan province, 16 from KP, 15 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad, the federal capital.
Poliovirus, which can cause crippling paralysis, particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021. 
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.