Health
Bill Gates visits Pakistan, says polio eradication possible in a few years
Microsoft Corp co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates visited Pakistan on Thursday, meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan and saying polio eradication could be possible in coming years in one of the last two countries of the world where the virus is endemic.
“We’re not done but we’re certainly in by far the best situation we’ve ever been in,” Gates told reporters in Islamabad on the possibility of eliminating polio in Pakistan and globally.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, of which Gates is co-chair, is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a major project between governments and international organisations.
Pakistan, along with neighbouring Afghanistan, is one of two countries in the world where polio continues to circulate.
Gates, with Pakistan’s Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Faisal Sultan, told reporters that the two neighbouring countries’ polio eradication efforts were interlinked.
They said there was a real possibility of eliminating polio in practice in the next few years, but the outcome was uncertain, particularly given the situation in Afghanistan where the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took control in August.
“I think the steps taken in Pakistan during 2022 will probably set us up to finish polio eradication,” Gates said.
“Afghanistan is a little bit of a question mark because that’s a more complex situation,” he said, but noted vaccination rates had gone up this year after dropping off since 2018, though needed to be higher.
Sultan said Pakistan was engaging with the IEA administration health authorities.
“We … have ongoing conversations to make sure that a synchronised campaign for eradication … because when you look at our two countries (they) are adjacent to each other and … tightly linked,” he said.
No children have been paralysed by wild polio in Pakistan in more than a year, according to the Gates Foundation, but the virus was detected in December in sewerage samples in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Four wild polio cases were reported in Afghanistan in 2021 and one this year, according to GPEI.
Pakistan President Arif Alvi conferred the award of Hilal-e-Pakistan, the country’s second-highest civilian award, to Gates at an investiture ceremony.
Noor Jalal Jalali, Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan, held a meeting in Kabul with representatives of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and other international organizations.
According to the ministry’s statement, representatives of these international organizations discussed the delivery of health and development services, improving the management of aid and resources in the health sector, integrating health facilities and aligning them with the new policy, providing health services in accordance with the Ministry of Public Health’s policy, strengthening the immunization and vaccination sector, delivering services based on priorities, and ensuring sustained coordination.
During the meeting, Jalali stressed the need for transparency and attention to the ministry’s priorities in order to enhance the effectiveness and impact of health services. He added that the delivery of health services must be carried out in line with the ministry’s policy and through better management of existing international assistance.
Referring to vaccination campaigns, he stated that the recent measles and polio vaccination campaign had been implemented very successfully, and emphasized that necessary preparations should be made for upcoming campaigns.
He also provided information regarding the review of the BPHS and EPHS health packages and the establishment of a standardized system through technical committees.
In this meeting, Edwin Ceniza, the WHO Representative for Afghanistan, reaffirmed the organization’s continued cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health and expressed appreciation to the ministry’s leadership for their tireless efforts to improve the health system.
Representatives of these organizations pledged to maintain effective and sustained coordination and to provide their services within the country in accordance with the policies and principles of the Ministry of Public Health.
Abdul Wali Haqqani, Deputy Minister for Health Services at the Ministry of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has departed for Turkey on an official visit accompanied by a high-ranking delegation.
According to a statement released by the Health Ministry on Wednesday, the trip aims to acquire new health-sector expertise, assess Turkish medical and scientific institutions, meet with Turkish health and government officials, and strengthen bilateral cooperation.
During the visit, the delegation is scheduled to meet representatives from both public and private health sectors to support improvements in Afghanistan’s healthcare system and enhance coordination between the two countries, the statement added.
Health
Polio vaccination drive launches across 17 Afghan provinces
Officials say routine vaccination remains the most effective tool for eliminating polio and have urged families to fully cooperate with health teams during the campaign.
The Ministry of Public Health has announced the launch of a major anti-polio vaccination campaign, set to begin on Monday across 17 provinces of Afghanistan.
According to Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the ministry, the nationwide initiative will target 7.4 million children under the age of five, delivering vaccines door-to-door to prevent the spread of the poliovirus and safeguard children’s health.
Officials say routine vaccination remains the most effective tool for eliminating polio and have urged families to fully cooperate with health teams during the campaign.
This effort forms part of the government’s ongoing strategy to protect Afghanistan’s next generation from preventable diseases and strengthen public health across the country.
This comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) recently again classified the global spread of poliovirus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), warning that the disease remains endemic in only two countries — Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The decision followed the 43rd meeting of the Polio Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (IHR), which convened on 1 October 2025.
According to the Committee, Afghanistan reported four new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases so far this year, compared to 24 in Pakistan.
The Afghan cases were detected in the country’s southern and eastern regions, where transmission remains intense despite ongoing vaccination efforts.
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