Islamabad, – The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) convened in Islamabad from January 21–23 to review and assess the status of polio eradication efforts in Pakistan over the past seven months. This review occurred amidst expanding wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) transmission and various contextual challenges.
The three-day meeting brought together polio experts from Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners. Additionally, leadership teams from across Pakistan, senior provincial representatives, chief secretaries, and key donors participated in various sessions.
Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Health, commended the significant progress and collaboration observed during the TAG meeting. He remarked:
“With the invaluable recommendations made by the TAG, we will intensify efforts to close all remaining gaps, strengthen operations, surveillance, and communications, and—importantly—enhance the synergy between the polio and routine immunization programmes to ensure that every child, no matter where they are in the country, is repeatedly vaccinated.”
“The Government of Pakistan is fully dedicated to polio eradication. The Health Ministry maintains direct oversight and ownership of the Polio Programme, with the honorable Prime Minister personally invested in the eradication efforts,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s Focal Point for Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, expressed her gratitude to the TAG members for their continued support. She stated:
“The programme has demonstrated remarkable capacity to swiftly translate lessons learned into strategic interventions. Our 2-4-6 strategic roadmap, developed through critical self-appraisal and collaboration with all provinces, prioritizes reaching every child, addressing operational gaps, and strengthening community trust and oversight to interrupt transmission by mid-2025.”
“Polio free Pakistan only be achieved through collective action—working hand in hand across government, civil society, religious leaders, the private and public sectors, and the media, alongside our frontline workers and communities,” she added.
In his closing remarks, the Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), Muhammed Anwar-ul-Haq, stated:
“We have also noted the TAG’s advice to further strengthen routine immunization in polio-priority areas. We will be optimizing synergy between the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) at operational levels to ensure quick plugging of immunity gaps in these pockets.”
TAG emphasized that sustaining the government’s and partners’ commitment to polio eradication, ensuring adequate support for polio teams, and achieving full immunization coverage—especially in core reservoir areas—are crucial to eradicating polio in 2025.
The meeting was attended by GPEI partners, including representatives from WHO, UNICEF, CDC, the Gates Foundation, Rotary International, GAVI, and USAID. Provincial representatives included chief secretaries, Emergency Operation Center coordinators, and staff from the Polio Programme in each province.
