Pakistan's Technical Advisory Group on polio eradication is expected on Monday to publish recommendations urging intensified surveillance and vaccination campaigns in persistent virus reservoirs along the Afghanistan border. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative convened the group to assess the country's stalled progress.

Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries where wild poliovirus circulation has never been interrupted. Health officials in Islamabad have repeatedly said eradication is within reach, yet cases continued to surface in 2025 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern districts, undermining confidence in earlier optimistic forecasts.

The advisory group's review focused on environmental sampling data, vaccine coverage gaps, and the recurring problem of children missed during door-to-door campaigns. Pakistan's National Emergency Operations Centre has acknowledged that population movement and vaccine refusals in some communities complicate efforts to halt transmission.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF, which co-lead the eradication initiative alongside Rotary International and the Gates Foundation, have pressed Pakistan to align its campaign calendar with Afghanistan to prevent cross-border reinfection. WHO Regional Office officials for the Eastern Mediterranean have emphasized that coordinated immunisation days remain essential.

The recommendations are likely to shape the timing and scope of Pakistan's next nationwide vaccination drive. The programme faces sustained scrutiny from international donors who have repeatedly warned against complacency as funding pressures mount.