Two more poliovirus cases were confirmed in the southern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bringing Pakistan’s total count this year to 23, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Tuesday.

Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress.

A statement from the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at Islamabad’s NIH said the latest cases include a 16-month-old girl from Union Council Mullazai in Tank district and a 24-month-old girl from Union Council Miran Shah-3 in North Waziristan district.

“With these detections, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has reached 23, including 15 cases from KP, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan,” the statement noted.

“Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that can cause lifelong paralysis. The only effective protection is through repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for every child under five during each campaign, alongside timely completion of all routine immunisations. Despite significant progress, the continued detection of polio cases, particularly in Southern KP, remains a serious concern,” as per the statement.

The statement noted that children in hard-to-access areas and those with low vaccine acceptance continue to be at risk, adding that the national and provincial Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) are taking all possible measures to ensure the implementation of high-quality vaccination campaigns.

It added that the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication has developed a vaccination campaign scheduled for the upcoming low transmission season. The first campaign of the season will be conducted from September 1 to 7, while in southern KP, the campaign will commence on September 15, targeting more than 28 million children under the age of five.

“The aim is to ensure that every child in these districts is vaccinated against polio as part of ongoing efforts to rapidly strengthen immunity and address existing protection gaps,” the statement said, urging parents and caregivers to ensure their children receive the polio vaccine during the campaign as well as the upcoming ones.

“Polio eradication is a shared responsibility. While frontline health workers continue to deliver critical vaccines to children, parents and caregivers play an important role by ensuring their children receive all recommended doses of the polio vaccine and complete their routine immunisations,” according to the statement.

“Communities can protect their children by actively supporting vaccination efforts, countering misinformation, and encouraging others to vaccinate.”

Last week, two new poliovirus cases were reported involving a six-year-old girl from KP’s Kohistan district and a 21-month-old girl from Sindh’s Badin.

Earlier this month, poliovirus was found in 36 per cent of samples across 87 nationwide districts tested in July.