Daily Times

Health officials have reported the 24th polio case of the year, appealing parents to vaccinate their children. The latest child affected by this paralytic disease is a 29-month-old boy in Hyderabad district of Sindh province, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health notified. This is the second polio case reported from Hyderabad where a case was earlier reported in August. Pakistan has now reported 24 polio cases in 2024 included 15 from Balochistan, five from Sindh, two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad. The Pakistan Polio Programme is implementing a comprehensive roadmap to stem the spread of the virus and interrupt its transmission by mid-2025. This roadmap, made in consultation with all provinces, is focused on ensuring access to every child in polio high risk areas, plugging operational gaps, building community trust through open communication and polio vaccination and integrated health service delivery, mapping and vaccinating all mobile and migrant populations, and strengthening management and oversight to improve all aspects of polio eradication activities.