In 2025, WHO’s polio programme in the Eastern Mediterranean Region advanced critical areas of eradication despite conflict, humanitarian crisis and funding pressures. From refining strategies in endemic countries to expanding laboratory capacity and political engagement and accelerating integration with routine immunization, the year marked important progress across multiple fronts.
Afghanistan and Pakistan continued to intensify efforts to interrupt wild poliovirus transmission in 2025, guided by Technical Advisory Groups - which meet regularly to assess efforts to end polio and share independent technical guidance to interrupt poliovirus transmission - and strengthened national and regional oversight. Both countries further narrowed their focus on critical transmission zones, reinforced community engagement and enhanced cross-border coordination.
In Afghanistan’s East Region, the strategic reset accelerated through intensified tactics, including expanding the number of health facilities offering polio vaccination, revised microplans to reduce the distance between households and vaccination sites, and stronger community engagement. These measures sustained high campaign quality and delivered sharp declines in virus detection, demonstrating how adaptive approaches can succeed even in highly complex settings.
In Pakistan, targeted operational adjustments focused on the most consequential transmission areas, including southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Quetta bloc and Karachi, alongside strengthened accountability and enhanced vaccination strategies to rapidly boost population immunity. Cross-border coordination between the two countries was further strengthened through synchronized campaigns, joint investigations and routine data exchange along major population movement corridors.
At the same time, transmission persists in a number of critical areas where insecurity and restricted access continue to limit vaccination reach. With transmission now declining – Pakistan reported fewer than half as many cases in 2025 as compared to 2024 – the current low-transmission season represents the strongest epidemiological opportunity in years to interrupt wild poliovirus transmission in both countries.
