SARGODHA:World Polio Day was observed in Sargodha on Saturday with a renewed commitment to eradicate the crippling disease from Pakistan through sustained vaccination campaigns, effective surveillance and community participation.
Medical Superintendent(MS) of District Teaching Hospital Sargodha,Dr.Sohail Khawaja while talking to the media that the day was observed worldwide to reaffirm the commitment to eradicating polio and highlight the importance of vaccination to protect children against the virus.
He said sustained immunization campaigns, effective disease surveillance and community engagement were essential to ensure that every child received polio vaccine and remained protected against the disease.
Recalling the global efforts to eradicate polio,Dr.Khawaja said the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution in 1988 to eliminate the disease worldwide,leading to the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a public-private partnership.
Since then,cases of wild poliovirus had declined by more than 99 per cent, from an estimated 350,000 cases annually across more than 125 endemic countries to continued transmission in only two countries, he added.
He said Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan remained the only countries where wild poliovirus was endemic, underscoring the need for sustained vaccination coverage and coordinated efforts by health authorities, frontline workers and local communities.
Dr.Khawaja said Pakistan had reduced its polio burden by 99.8 per cent since 1994,when an estimated 20,000 cases were reported annually. Seven cases had been reported in the country so far in 2026, he added.
He said the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative was working in collaboration with federal and provincial health authorities and international partners to interrupt virus transmission through vaccination campaigns, environmental surveillance and targeted efforts to reach children who had missed routine immunization.
The medical superintendent said the next sub-national polio vaccination campaign was scheduled for November 2 to 8 in 97 selected districts,including Sargodha with a target of vaccinating more than 23.9 million children under five years of age.
He said polio was a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affected children under five but could also infect unvaccinated people of any age.
The virus attacked the nervous system and could cause irreversible paralysis within hours,he added.
Dr.Khawaja stressed that ensuring vaccination for every child was essential to protecting future generations and achieving a polio-free Pakistan