Polio virus has been completely eradicated from all but two countries in the world. In 2025, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where the virus remains endemic and has not been brought under control.

Failure to eliminate polio from Afghanistan is largely driven by logistical failures. However, in Pakistan, the prevailing security conditions have also played a major role in hampering effective vaccination efforts.

On September 11, 2024, the Bajaur Police announced that it was boycotting security duties for the anti-polio campaigns because of its personnel being consistently targeted, and even killed while protecting vaccination teams.

As per estimates, a total of 33 security forces personnel and polio workers were killed in the year 2024 while 77 others were injured.

Among them, five people, including two policemen, were injured on June 8, when unidentified attackers opened fire on a polio vaccination team.

Similarly, on September 27, two polio workers were kidnapped by armed men in Kulachi, in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, they were released later on the condition that they would not participate in any polio vaccination drive in the future.

Akin to these incidents, numerous others have happened during the year 2024, significantly impacting the success of polio drives in the country.

The Bajaur district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has become a hotbed for terrorist activities, posing a major hurdle in the effective implementation of polio drives in the province.

During this process, not only the polio workers but the security forces are also a major target for militants. On December 17, a military vehicle deployed for the protection of polio teams was targeted by an improvised explosive device in Draban, Dera Ismail Khan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Ali Rehman*- a resident of Bajaur while speaking to Khabar Kada said, “I have a young son who cannot walk by himself now and is dependent on his other siblings and family for the rest of his life. If I had given him the polio vaccination he would have been just like other youngsters.”

Despite the massive scale and cost of the polio vaccination drive and the casualties among polio workers and security officials alike, the spread of polio does not seem to be slowing down. *Emaan Fatima daughter of the policeman who was killed while protecting the polio vaccination team said, “My father was guarding the health workers who are not only saving the next generations from getting crippled but also protecting the future of our country. I did not let my mother cry because my father was a hero who died while protecting innocent civilians.”

On January 14, the National Institute of Health announced that another polio case had been confirmed from the previous year in Jacobabad, Sindh. This took the total number of cases in 2024 to 71, the highest in three years.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the sources.