Hyderabad region in Pakistan’s Sindh faced challenges in attaining a polio-free status in 2025, as more than 12,000 children missed vaccination during the final nationwide campaign, raising concerns about official neglect and public resistance. Health department officials’ ongoing apathy has hindered polio eradication efforts in the district, with 12,092 children under five left unvaccinated despite the 2025 nationwide anti-polio campaign. The district of Hyderabad reported the presence of poliovirus for the 11th consecutive time in 2025, as confirmed by environmental samples.
Efforts to eliminate polio have been hampered by the persistent presence of the poliovirus in Hyderabad, with the detection of Wild Poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) during November, as indicated by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad. Parents were urged to ensure their children receive the polio vaccine and complete immunization schedules to safeguard them against polio and other preventable diseases. Previously, Hyderabad had achieved polio-free status through effective measures, but a lack of accountability and anti-polio campaigns has allowed the virus to resurge in the district.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where Wild Poliovirus remains endemic, with Pakistan facing challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation in its polio eradication endeavors. Polio workers in Pakistan have been targeted in attacks, with a police constable killed while protecting a polio vaccination team in Nizampur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, during a vaccination drive. The assailants fled the scene, prompting authorities to launch a search operation to apprehend them.
