ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities said on Saturday they have vaccinated more than 19 million children in an ongoing anti-polio drive, part of a nationwide campaign to eradicate the crippling disease.

Polio is an incurable, highly infectious virus that can cause lifelong paralysis and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination and routine immunization. Pakistan recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp rise from six in 2023 and just one in 2021, highlighting the challenge of eradication.

Overall, the country has made major gains since the 1990s, when annual cases exceeded 20,000, reducing the toll to eight by 2018.

“All segments of society must play their national role in eliminating polio,” the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said in a statement. “Welcome polio teams and ensure that every child under five is given drops in every campaign to protect them from the disease.”

The statement added more than 19.2 million children have so far received polio drops in the campaign that began Sept. 1 across 99 districts.

The breakdown included around 4 million in Punjab, nearly 8.4 million in Sindh, 3.96 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2.16 million in Balochistan.

In Islamabad, more than 442,000 children were vaccinated, while figures stood at 112,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 164,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Efforts to eliminate the disease have been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on polio workers by militant groups. In remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams often operate under police protection, though security personnel themselves have also been targeted during these campaigns.

The NEOC said the campaign has also been complicated by seasonal floods, which have forced authorities to postpone the drive in nine districts of Punjab.

It added that the vaccination push in Bajaur and Upper Dir located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province will begin on Sept. 15.