Around a million children in Pakistan were not vaccinated, with 53,000 refusals reported during the initial polio campaign in 2026. Karachi, Pakistan, saw the highest refusal rate at 58%. Over 44.3 million children received polio drops, achieving a 98% household coverage, but 2% were missed.
In total, 0.95 million children were missed during the campaign, with 0.67 million not present at home for vaccination. Polio drops were given to 2.5 million guest children, potentially covering those missed. Security issues, community boycotts, and snow-bound areas left 233,000 children unvaccinated.
The campaign faced challenges in areas like Mastung, Gwadar, Chagai, and Awaran in Balochistan due to security concerns. Refusals accounted for 0.14% of the target, with Karachi having the highest at 31,000 refusals. Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan saw millions of children receiving polio drops during the campaign.
Over 455,000 children were vaccinated in Islamabad, with additional numbers in PoGB and PoJK. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where Wild Poliovirus remains endemic. Attacks on polio workers, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, have been a recurring issue.
In a tragic incident, a police constable guarding a polio team was killed in an attack in Nizampur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The attack occurred while health workers were vaccinating children. The assailants fled the scene after the shooting.
