Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, chairs the National Task Force meeting on behalf of the Honourable Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging all provincial authorities to maintain full government oversight of polio eradication efforts as Pakistan launches a vaccination campaign to protect 31 million children in 115 districts from 21–27 September.
Islamabad, September 18, 2026 – The National Task Force for Polio Eradication (NTF) met today to review the status of polio eradication efforts and assess preparations for the upcoming subnational polio vaccination campaign, which aims to protect 31 million children from paralytic polio across 115 districts from September 21-27.
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal chaired the NTF on behalf of Honorable Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and formally inaugurated the upcoming campaign, administering polio drops to children ahead of the meeting.
He urged all chief secretaries to continue to prioritize polio eradication and provide full support to the September vaccination campaign. “The Prime Minister’s directives are clear: we must interrupt polio transmission so we can protect every child and every family, and that means leading from the front. I urge you all to be out in the communities during this upcoming campaign to engage directly with communities and parents and help foster vaccine acceptance.”
He added: “Despite the challenging circumstances, our dedicated frontline workers continue to go door-to-door to reach every child with the disability-preventing polio vaccine. Their courage, commitment, and tireless efforts demonstrate their unwavering resolve to protect Pakistan’s children and advance the national goal of a polio-free Pakistan.”
Ms. Ayesha Raza Farooq, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, presented a comprehensive briefing from the Polio Eradication Initiative focused on current trends, declining circulation, key challenges and ongoing strategic planning to interrupt poliovirus transmission.
“Pakistan has made significant progress, but this decisive phase demands sustained focus and collective action. Our priority is to ensure that no child is missed and we remain focused on strengthening surveillance, campaign quality and community engagement to interrupt transmission,” she said.
Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Syed Mustafa Kamal urged chief secretaries to remain fully engaged and ensure high-quality implementation of the campaign, particularly in core reservoirs and high-risk areas of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), to reach every eligible child.
“We will intensify efforts in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as all areas that are sustaining circulation to keep children protected from this disease,” the minister added.
The NTF, a high-level forum tasked with overseeing polio eradication in Pakistan, was held ahead of the launch of the fourth polio campaign of 2026, which begins on Monday. In close collaboration with partners, over 273,000 polio frontline workers have been mobilized to go house to house and immunize every child under 5 years of age. Since 1994, Pakistan has reduced polio cases by 99.8% from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025 thanks to the safe and effective polio vaccine that is delivered to children at their doorsteps multiple times a year.
In response to a resurgence in cases detected in 2023-24, Pakistan intensified its polio operations through multiple mass vaccination drives, targeted rounds of oral and injectable polio vaccines, joint activities with the Expanded Programme on Immunization to strengthen routine vaccination, integrated health services in high-risk areas and continued community engagement. These concerted efforts have helped reduce polio cases by 58%, from 74 in 2024 to 31 in 2025, while virus circulation continues to decline.
So far in 2026, four cases have been confirmed, three of them from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone, which remains the most challenging area due to security-related access constraints. Continued circulation in southern KP, as well as persistent environmental detections in core reservoirs – such as the Karachi and Quetta blocks – indicate that polio remains a threat to millions of families. No child will be safe until every child is vaccinated and safe.
Notes to editors:
The high-level NTF is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes the Federal Health Minister, provincial Chief Ministers, Chief Secretaries, senior administrative leadership of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, security leadership, Polio Eradication Initiative leadership and partners. The forum meets regularly to share progress on polio eradication, discuss challenges, redirect resources where needed, and tackle the remaining barriers to polio eradication.