AS we mark World Immunisation Week 2025 — themed ‘Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible’ — we are faced with a tragic reality: after decades of gains, global vaccination efforts are hitting turbulence. Outbreaks of measles, meningitis and even yellow fever are resurging, with measles cases alone up 20pc in 2023 to over 10m. Diseases once nearly vanquished are creeping back as routine immunisation falters in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, support for immunisation is flagging: funding has been slashed, notably the Trump administration’s rollback of America’s contributions to vaccine programmes. The WHO and Unicef warn that donor cuts have disrupted vaccination efforts in nearly half of the 108 countries surveyed — a recipe for the return of preventable diseases.

For Pakistan, the stakes are especially high. It is one of only two countries in the world where wild polio still circulates, and after coming close to eradication it has seen a worrying resurgence — climbing to 74 polio cases in 2024. At the same time, routine immunisation has stagnated. Last year, 1.2m Pakistani infants — out of the 7.3m targeted — missed their measles vaccinations, leaving the door wide open to outbreaks. Vaccination coverage remains highly uneven across the country, with consistently low rates in Balochistan, southern Punjab, parts of Karachi, and areas of southern KP. Pakistan is home to over 600,000 zero-dose children annually — those who have never had even a single vaccine dose. Many live in conflict-affected or remote areas, underscoring the urgent need to extend vaccine access beyond urban centres. Multiple factors have stalled our immunisation progress. Misinformation and distrust are rife; bizarre conspiracy theories about vaccines still circulate. This was exacerbated by a CIA-sponsored fake vaccination drive in 2011 — a deception that validated the worst suspicions. Extremist propaganda seized on that episode to demonise polio drops. To this day, health workers, and those protecting them, face threats on the job. Just this week, two security personnel guarding a polio team were martyred.

Yet these challenges can be overcome — because immunising every child is indeed humanly possible. The first priority is rebuilding trust — and ensuring vaccinators can work safely on the front lines. Health officials should partner with the ulema, community elders and teachers to champion vaccination and dispel myths; when religious leaders publicly affirm that vaccines are safe and halal, it boosts community acceptance. The second imperative is practical: ensure a reliable vaccine supply, strengthen the cold chain, and bolster disease surveillance so that doses safely reach every village. Pakistan’s Covid-19 response proved it can execute mass vaccination — delivering over 300m vaccine doses through organised drives. That same level of national resolve is now needed to ensure no child is left vulnerable to preventable diseases.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2025