Over 12,000 children miss polio drops in 2025's final campaign

Despite repeated nationwide anti-polio drives, Hyderabad has failed to achieve polio-free status in 2025, with more than 12,000 children missing vaccination during the year's final countrywide campaign, raising serious concerns over official negligence and public resistance.

According to official sources, persistent indifference by health department officials has once again derailed efforts to eliminate polio from the district. Even at the conclusion of the last nationwide anti-polio campaign of 2025, conducted amid the confirmed presence of the virus, 12,092 children under the age of five were left unvaccinated.

Health officials confirmed that Hyderabad reported the presence of poliovirus for the 11th consecutive time in 2025. A report issued by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad-based on environmental sewage samples collected nationwide-revealed that wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was detected in Hyderabad during November, similar to several other cities across the country.

The report warned that the continued presence of the poliovirus poses a grave threat to children's health. Parents were urged to remain vigilant, ensure repeated doses of the polio vaccine for their children, and complete routine immunisation schedules on time to protect them from polio and other preventable diseases.

National data shows that during 2025, 30 children across 15 districts in Pakistan were affected by poliovirus. Of these, three cases were reported from Sindh, with affected children belonging to Badin, Hyderabad, Umerkot, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Thatta.

Ironically, Hyderabad had previously achieved polio-free status due to effective administrative measures, and environmental samples had shown no trace of the virus. However, over the past several years, the lack of sustained and effective anti-polio campaigns, coupled with the absence of accountability against negligent health officials and field staff, has allowed the virus to regain a permanent foothold in the district.

The seriousness of the situation is further underscored by the health department's own post-campaign report of the fifth nationwide anti-polio drive, conducted from December 15 to 21, 2025. The seven-day campaign failed to reach 12,092 eligible children.

Official statistics from the Hyderabad Health Department reveal that 11,486 children were missed because vaccination teams found them absent from their homes. Meanwhile, 606 children were denied polio drops due to outright refusal by parents. Authorities admitted that efforts at the administrative level to convince these families proved ineffective.

The report notes that most refusals were recorded in Cantonment areas and several municipal jurisdictions, including TMC Hussainabad, TMC Mian Sarfraz, TMC Nerunkot, TMC Preetabad, TMC Qasimabad, TMC Sachal Sarmast, TMC Shah Latifabad, TMC Tando Fazal, and TMC Tando Jam.

Public health experts warn that unless immediate corrective measures are taken-such as stricter monitoring of vaccination teams, accountability for non-performance, and intensified community engagement-Hyderabad risks remaining a persistent reservoir of poliovirus, undermining national eradication efforts.