Bannu emerges as major hurdle to anti-polio efforts

Bannu emerges as major hurdle to anti-polio efforts

PESHAWAR: Bannu Division, which has recorded four of the countrywide five polio cases reported this year until now, continues to pose impediments to the government’s efforts to eradicate the virus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, say officials. The Emergency Operation Centre, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has said its fourth nationwide week-long polio campaign, which ended on Sept 27, achieved a 99pc target overall but reached 86pc children in Bannu, the hub of poliovirus. Bannu also remained home to 4,701 polio vaccination refusal cases, second to Peshawar, which stayed atop the list of parents refusing their children’s inoculation, with a tally of 5,635. Peshawar recorded 10,558 children who were missed by vaccinators due to their unavailability during house-to-house visits. Recent polio campaign reached 86pc children in division Bannu stayed second, with 5,873 children who missed immunisation for the same reason. A total of 83,989 children missed vaccination, almost the same number as in the last campaign, and 20,167 vaccination refusal cases, up from 19,605. Experts said that despite looming threats, vaccinators continued to reach people in violence-hit districts of the province but a few pockets everywhere, especially in southern areas, are notorious for reluctance towards the oral polio vaccine (OPV). A recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that Pakistan has reported just five polio cases in 2026, including four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Sindh, down significantly from 31 cases in 2025 and 74 in 2024. It, however, noted that sustained local poliovirus transmission continued to be concentrated in three critical geographies, including the “South Region of Afghanistan, Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as Karachi”. According to it, the South Region of Afghanistan remains the area of greatest concern, with intense virus transmission and evidence of prolonged undetected circulation. Afghanistan, a polio-endemic country like Pakistan, has recorded 36 cases this year, up from 21 in 2025, the world health agency said. It added that Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Bannu Division) continued to present significant operational and security challenges that impeded implementation of high-quality vaccination activities, while Karachi remained a significant reservoir for poliovirus transmission, with widespread environmental surveillance positivity indicating continued local transmission. Officials said EOC KP had been laying special focus on high-risk districts before every campaign and held training sessions for its workers to engage communities for addressing vaccination refusals and ensure supervision and quality assurance of vaccination in line with the international commitment that every child under five years of age must receive two OPV drops during every campaign to stop virus transmission. Officials said the campaign had been synchronised with Afghanistan to ensure that children crossing the Pak-Afghan border get OPV on either side. They said of the 31 million children targeted nationwide, KP had 7.3 million in 37 districts, but except Bannu division and Peshawar, the targets remained far from being met in almost every campaign. Officials at the EOC said that most children were protected but poliovirus needed just one unvaccinated child to keep circulating. They said the virus was still present but the system was working to ensure early detection, rapid response and high campaign coverage to ensure the country’s goal of polio-eradication. Officials said prior to every campaign, the chief secretary held meetings with deputy commissioners and district health officers to ensure quality immunisation, especially in areas where opposition to polio vaccination existed. They, however, said some districts, especially those in Bannu Division, persistently recorded cases of the vaccination refusal and missed children. Officials said the government recently increased wages of polio workers by 30pc as a mark of acknowledgement for their bravery in carrying out duties despite harsh situations. Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2026