ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called Pakistan’s partnership with the Gates Foundation vital for polio eradication which he described as a “high priority” in the face of 27 cases reported this year, his office said on Thursday.
The remarks came during a meeting between Sharif and Gates Foundation Chairman Bill Gates on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The highest number of polio cases confirmed this year in Pakistan so far includes 18 from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province followed by seven from southern Sindh and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.
“The premier appreciated the valuable support extended by the Gates Foundation to Pakistan for polio eradication efforts, improving immunization and nutrition as well as financial inclusion in the country,” the PM Office said in a statement.
“The prime minister stressed that polio eradication remained a high priority for the Government and partnership with the Gates Foundation would remain vital to achieve this objective.”
Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine for every child under five during each campaign, alongside timely completion of all routine immunizations.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic.
Pakistan recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp rise from six in 2023 and just one in 2021.
Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate poliovirus have mostly been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on anti-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 in attacks.
The government has already said around 400,000 door-to-door workers will be deployed in the next nationwide polio vaccination drive from Oct. 13-19 to inoculate 45.4 million children.
