WORLD POLIO DAY
World Polio Day – October 24
World Polio Day is commemorated on October 24th every year commemorating the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. The day is dedicated to creating awareness about the disease and supporting all initiatives to prevent it, highlighting the global efforts to end poliomyelitis across the globe. Vaccination is the best way to provide immunity from the virus, and this day reminds us of the important role that polio vaccines play in protecting lives and safeguarding public health around the world.
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World Polio Day is celebrated on October 24 yearly to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk who developed one of the effective vaccines against poliomyelitis. Setting aside a day for polio provides an opportunity to raise awareness and resources to battle the disease. Poliomyelitis called polio in short is caused by the polioviruses. It can be life threatening and may lead to paralysis and disability. There is no treatment for polio but effective vaccines are available to prevent the disease. With the advent of the vaccination campaigns, polio has been eliminated in some regions of the world. Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the two countries with continued transmission of the Wild Polio Viruses while sub-Saharan Africa are mainly affected by the circulation of the vaccine derived polio viruses due to poor immunization coverage.
World Polio Day is commemorated on October 24th every year to raise awareness of the importance of polio vaccination to protect every child from this disease and to celebrate the efforts of professionals, volunteers, and parents to achieve polio eradication.
Written by ISID Emerging Leader, Nadia Noreen
Pakistan is one of only two countries where poliomyelitis (polio) remains endemic, the other being Afghanistan. While polio eradication in Pakistan is not yet complete, the trajectory is unmistakably downward. Reported wild poliovirus cases fell from 147 in 2019 to 84 in 2020, 1 in 2021, 20 in 2022, 6 in 2023, 74 in 2024, and 29 as of October 2025. Launched in 1994, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme has grown into a nationwide enterprise powered by 339,521 trained workers, the world’s largest surveillance network, state-of-the-art laboratories, high-quality data systems, and expert epidemiological leadership. Over the past year, intensified operations further reduced transmission. Polio cases declined from 74 in 2024 to 29 as of October 2025. Surveillance remains robust and sensitive, detecting even atypical or mildly symptomatic infections. In 2025, 13 cases presented with mild symptoms and 11 with moderate paralysis, evidence that the system is capturing a broader clinical spectrum.