Polio is crippling disease which has no cure but can be prevented with polio vaccine. Today, polio is endemic to just two countries in the world; Pakistan, Afghanistan. The goal of Pakistan National PolioPlus Committee is aimed to stop transmission of the polio virus in Pakistan. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) which was formed in 1988 with polio partners the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Rotary International to eradicate polio worldwide. In recent years, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is an equal partner, contributing to the cause of polio eradication.

The Pakistan Government’s top priority is to eradicate this disease so that attention can be given to other vaccine preventable diseases. PNPPC works closely with the Government of Pakistan and facilitates many projects and activities to support polio eradication. It has established Permanent Immunization Centers, Resource Centers, Permanent Transit Posts, Team Support Centers, solar water filtration plants, ILRs, speaking books, social mobilization items and provision of vaccine carriers for the entire polio program in the country.

In addition advocacy by Rotarians across the country have enabled people to come forward and accept the polio vaccine. The success of awareness and advocacy at grass roots level is important to the polio eradication program, as it alleviates many of the ambiguities and misconceptions related to the polio vaccine. The rate of refusals has declined significantly, due to awareness created in the door to door campaign which enables polio teams to visit every corner of the country and administer polio drops to children

Today, we are at the cross-roads of ending polio in Pakistan, with one Wild Polio Virus case reported from Balochistan in January 2021. The Federal and Provincial Government of Pakistan, and all stakeholders in the polio eradication program, are committed and dedicated to the cause of polio eradication.