India eradicated polio 15 years ago, Pakistan still struggles to eliminate virus: Report

New Delhi: Pakistan's long-running battle against polio requires a sharper focus on reaching missed children, strengthening public trust and improving accountability, according to public health experts, who say repeated vaccination campaigns alone will not be enough to eliminate the disease.

The renewed debate comes as Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where wild poliovirus continues to circulate despite years of vaccination efforts and extensive support from national and international health agencies, according to the Friday Times report.

Health experts point to neighbouring India as an example of how sustained political commitment, rigorous surveillance and strong community engagement can help eradicate the disease.

India reported its last case of wild poliovirus in January 2011 and was officially declared polio-free in 2014, while Bangladesh has also maintained its polio-free status.

Public health specialists argue that India's success was not the result of a single intervention but a combination of repeated immunisation drives, close monitoring of vulnerable areas, effective community mobilisation and a surveillance system capable of detecting the virus before paralytic cases emerged.

Experts caution against attributing India's achievement solely to domestic control of health programmes.

While stressing the importance of national ownership, they note that international organisations, including the World Health Organisation, played a significant role by providing technical and surveillance support, as per the report.

In Pakistan, the challenge extends beyond vaccine hesitancy alone. Health officials say many children continue to be missed because of population movement, uneven routine immunisation coverage, cross-border migration and insecurity in certain regions.

Misinformation and distrust in some communities have also contributed to vaccine refusals, complicating eradication efforts.

Experts emphasise that the absence of paralytic polio cases does not necessarily mean transmission has ended.

Since most infections do not cause paralysis, environmental surveillance, particularly the testing of sewage samples, has become a critical tool for detecting viral circulation.

Laboratory testing and genetic sequencing also help authorities track transmission chains and identify links between outbreaks.

The continued detection of genetically related poliovirus strains in Pakistan and Afghanistan highlights the need for closer coordination between the two countries, health experts say.

Frequent movement of people across the border means that vaccination campaigns, surveillance activities and information-sharing mechanisms must be aligned to prevent the virus from spreading between populations, the report noted.

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