PESHAWAR: Pakistan has reported its ninth polio case of 2026 in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, health authorities said on Thursday, as the country presses ahead with a nationwide effort to vaccinate millions of children against the crippling disease.

The latest case was detected in Khyber district, bringing the provincial tally to seven, while the remaining two cases were reported in southern Sindh province, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC). Pakistan remains one of only two countries, alongside Afghanistan, where wild poliovirus remains endemic.

“Pakistan has reported nine polio cases so far in 2026,” the NEOC said in a statement.

The announcement comes during a seven-day vaccination campaign launched on Monday, targeting approximately 24 million children under five across 97 selected districts, including Khyber, where the latest case was reported.

Earlier on Thursday, the NEOC said health workers had vaccinated more than 19.6 million children in the first three days of the campaign, which will continue until Nov. 8.

The drive, being conducted simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan, is the fifth major vaccination campaign of the year and involves more than 200,000 frontline health workers going door to door to immunize children.

Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis and, in some cases, death. There is no cure, but it can be prevented through vaccination.

Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts have long faced challenges from misinformation, vaccine refusals and attacks on vaccination teams, particularly in areas affected by militant violence.

Pakistan recorded 31 polio cases in 2025, according to government figures, a significant decline from an estimated 20,000 annual cases in the early 1990s.

Health authorities urged parents to ensure that all children under five receive polio drops during the ongoing campaign and complete their routine immunizations on schedule.

“All segments of society are urged to play their full part in supporting efforts to eradicate polio,” the NEOC said.