The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday reported at an Emergency Committee meeting on the spread of polio that Afghanistan has recorded a 283% increase in polio cases in in the country this year. 

According to a statement issued by WHO, since the last Emergency Committee meeting, in July this year, 51 new wild polio cases were reported – 17 from Afghanistan and 34 from Pakistan – bringing the total to 62 in 2024. 

This represents a 283% increase in paralytic cases in Afghanistan and a 550% increase in Pakistan compared to all of 2023, WHO reported.

WHO stated there has been an upward trend of wild polio detection in Pakistan since mid-2023, mostly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan provinces.