WHO Extends Travel Restrictions on Pakistan Amidst Continued Polio Threat
In a recent development, the World Health Organization (WHO) has opted to prolong travel restrictions on Pakistan for an additional three months, citing the persistent risk of a polio outbreak in the country. This decision comes following recommendations from the Emergency Committee on Polio, reflecting the ongoing concern over the presence of the poliovirus in Pakistan and its classification, alongside Afghanistan, as a global threat to polio containment efforts.
The WHO Director-General convened the 37th meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations on December 12, 2023. The committee reviewed data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and the cessation of outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). Technical reports from several countries, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, were considered during the meeting.
Pakistan reported six cases of WPV1 in the previous year, coupled with a significant increase in environmental detection, with 60 positive samples identified between September and November. Concerningly, new instances of polio transmission have surfaced in areas such as the Quetta Block in Balochistan, Karachi in Sindh, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, and Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
Efforts to combat the spread of polio have been underway, particularly in southern KP, where an additional 160,000 children have been vaccinated as part of the polio action plan. However, the nation faces challenges such as political instability, insecurity in specific regions necessitating police patrols for frontline workers, and vaccination boycotts, all of which hinder the progress of polio eradication in Pakistan.
The Emergency Committee unanimously agreed that the risk of international poliovirus spread remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Consequently, the committee has recommended extending the Temporary Recommendations for an additional three months, emphasizing the critical need for sustained and intensified efforts to address the ongoing polio threat in Pakistan.
