The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad has confirmed two new cases of polio in Pakistan.

One case is from Kohistan Lower District in Khyber PakhtunKhwa and the other from Badin district in Sindh.

The latest victims are a 6-year-old girl from Union Council Pattan in Kohistan Lower and a 21-month-old girl from Union Council Matli-2 in Badin.

With these new cases, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan for 2025 has reached 21, comprising 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 6 from Sindh, and 1 each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Polio is a highly infectious disease that can lead to lifelong paralysis, with the only effective prevention being repeated doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for all children under 5 during vaccination campaigns, along with timely immunisations.

Despite progress in the vaccination efforts, the detection of new cases highlights the ongoing risk to children in areas with low vaccine acceptance.

A sub-National Polio Vaccination Campaign is scheduled from September 1 to 7, aiming to immunise over 28 million children under 5 across 99 districts nationwide.

In Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the campaign will begin on September 15.

The goal of this initiative is to ensure that every child in these districts receives the vaccine to protect against the debilitating effects of Polio.

Parents and caregivers are urged to participate actively in the campaign and ensure their children receive the polio vaccine during this and future vaccination drives.

Polio eradication is a collective responsibility, and while frontline health workers play a vital role in delivering vaccines, the involvement of parents and communities is essential to combat misinformation and encourage widespread vaccination.