Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects young children. It spreads from person to person mainly through the faecal-oral route, or, less frequently, by a common vehicle, such as contaminated water or food. Once the virus enters the body, it multiplies in the intestine, invades the nervous system, and can cause paralysis, or sometimes even death.

Since 1994, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) has been working to eradicate poliovirus from the country. The polio eradication programme is driven by 285,000 polio vaccinators working alongside talented epidemiologists and public health experts, supported by the largest disease surveillance network in the Pakistan, quality data collection and analysis, communication activities and state-of-the-art laboratories. Through PEI efforts, polio cases have declined by up to 99%. However, transmission of the poliovirus in Pakistan has increased since 2019.