In May 2017, more than 38 million children under the age of 5 were vaccinated against polio during the National Immunization Day (NIDs). The May campaign was the last campaign of the current low transmission season.
As a result of efforts Pakistan has made so are, the current polio epidemiology remains the best we have ever seen in the country. The number of cases has declined from 306 in 2014 to 53 in 2015, and to 20 in 2016. So far this year, the number of polio cases reported in Pakistan remains two, including one from Lodhrad district in Punjab, and one from Diamir district in Gilgit Baltistan. Both of these cases have been contained through aggressive outbreak responses. The core reservoirs of Peshawar-Khyber and Karachi have not seen a case in the past 12 months, while only one case - in Killa Abdullah in December 2016 - was reported from the Quetta block.
Despite the record low number of new cases, the environmental surveillance system indicates the virus remains a serious threat to children, with the proportion of positive samples reaching 18 per cent as of May this year compared to 10 per cent as of May 2016. In particular, the transmission has increased in the Quetta block, Karachi and the twin cities of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. The programme is systematically addressing and responding to these challenges by focusing on reaching missed children and continuously improving campaign quality.
Government leadership is fully committed to the National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP), implemented via focused Emergency Operations Centers at National and Provisional levels, with emphasis on evidence-based decision making, a one-team approach, front-line workers at the center of polio eradication effort, effective oversight of performance management and accountability, an coordination across the common Afghanistan-Pakistan epidemiological block. As eradication moves into the final stage, seamless cross-border coordination with Afghanistan, that has had four polio cases so far this year, becomes ever more critical to success in both countries.