Promise to protect: will Pakistan end polio by 2030?

In a quiet village on the outskirts of Peshawar, 30-year-old Shahid Khan moves door to door, helping vaccinators administer polio drops to every child in his community. For Shahid, this is more than a campaign, it is a personal mission born of pain and love.

“My own daughter is a patient of polio,” he said, his voice trembling as he watched her struggle to walk. “Whenever I see her unable to play like other children, it breaks me. That’s why I made a promise that no child in my area will suffer like her. I will make sure every single one is vaccinated”.

Shahid’s story echoes through countless households across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), where families still live with the lifelong scars of a disease that should have been history by now. Each unvaccinated child becomes a reminder of the challenges Pakistan continues to face in eradicating polio – a virus that thrives in neglect, misinformation, and resistance.

An official from the Polio Eradication Programme, requesting anonymity, said that while polio remains a “national cause” supported by all tiers of government – from the prime minister to provincial leaders – the journey has been far from easy. “The environment in K-P and the merged districts has always been complex,” he noted. “At times, our work has been targeted by militants and foreign elements seeking to disrupt a noble cause”.

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He acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the past. “Whenever health interventions are imposed by force, communities react with suspicion,” he said. “Unfortunately, we did that before. It’s time to rebuild trust and ensure that people understand vaccination as a right, not an obligation”.

The official added that Pakistan must learn from its neighbours. “If Afghanistan and other countries can come close to eliminating the virus, why not us? We need to rethink our communication strategy and make sure we reach every last child”.

“If we can defeat India in war, why not beat India in health as well to eradicate polio? If the same commitment were made, then polio would be eradicated from Pakistan,” he added, noting that despite conflict in many Muslim countries, polio is not present there – so why is it still in Pakistan?

Professor Dr Muhammad Hussain, a renowned paediatrician and former president of the Pakistan Paediatrics Association, said the answer lies in treating polio as part of a larger public health system rather than an isolated mission. “Polio must be addressed seriously but without sensationalism,” he told The Express Tribune.

“Excessive security protocols and grand public ceremonies often overshadow the real work. The focus should be on realistic goals and empowering doctors, parents, teachers, and local leaders – not on publicity”.

Dr Hussain suggested introducing a model similar to the COVID-19 vaccination system, where certificates are issued after completing all doses. “Ultimately,” he said, “the fight against polio must be driven by sincerity, consistency, and accountability, not endless initiatives that create noise but little impact”.

Read more: K-P reports new polio case, Pakistan’s total climbs to 30

That sincerity is visible in the work of frontline health workers and community volunteers like Shahid Khan – the unsung heroes who brave harsh weather, long distances, and sometimes hostility to protect the next generation.

Mr Shafi Ullah Khan, Coordinator of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC-K-P), said the province is seeing encouraging results. “There’s been a drastic decline in refusal cases,” he said. “That reflects the commitment of our teams and the government. Our vision is a polio-free KP and Pakistan, but it requires every citizen and the media to play their part.”

For over three decades, Pakistan has been at the forefront of one of the world’s most ambitious public health campaigns – the fight to end polio. What began as a global dream to protect every child from paralysis has become a deeply local struggle fought in narrow alleys, rugged mountains, and crowded refugee settlements.

The results speak for themselves. In 2025, Pakistan reported 30 polio cases nationwide – 19 from K-P – marking an 80 percent drop since 2019. From hundreds of cases annually in the early 1990s to just a handful today, the country has reduced polio by more than 99%. Behind each of those drops are thousands of vaccinators, many of them women, who walk from house to house carrying life-saving hope in tiny vials.

Yet, as health experts warn, the final stretch is always the hardest. Sporadic detections of the virus in sewage samples remind authorities that polio remains a step ahead wherever sanitation is poor and awareness is low. “Even one case means the virus is circulating,” said a health official. “We cannot relax until there is zero detection, not just zero cases”.

Still, there is reason for optimism. Across Pakistan, communities, clerics, teachers, and journalists are uniting to dispel myths and build confidence. Religious leaders are now addressing vaccination from minbar and mehrab, encouraging parents to open their doors to health workers. “Every mother’s decision to vaccinate is an act of patriotism,” said one local imam during a Friday sermon.

In the end, ending polio is more than a medical goal – it is a moral one. It is about keeping a promise that no child, anywhere in Pakistan, will ever again be crippled by a disease that the world knows how to prevent.