The polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan's merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa missed its target, leaving over 935,000 children under five unvaccinated. Officials blamed security issues and population displacement for the setback, reports The Express Tribune. Many families from North and South Waziristan, Bajaur, and other merged districts have moved to other parts of Pakistan, making vaccination harder to monitor. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded 19 polio cases in 2025. These include four cases each in North Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, and Tank; three in Bannu; two in Torghar; and one each in Dera Ismail Khan and Lower Kohistan. Officials also said staffing and funding for WHO and Unicef’s programs in these districts were reduced last year. Funding cuts at WHO impacted campaign coverage, increasing children’s risk of contracting polio in these regions. In Sindh province, over 12,000 children under five were missed in the final 2025 polio drive in Hyderabad and nearby areas. Refusals mainly came from Cantonment areas and municipal towns like Hussainabad, Preetabad, Qasimabad, and Tando Jam. The main reasons were absent households and parents refusing vaccination. Despite these gaps, Pakistan’s nationwide polio campaign vaccinated more than 44.6 million children in 2025. Punjab led with 22.9 million vaccinated, followed by Sindh with 10.6 million, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 7.15 million, and Balochistan with 2.58 million. Officials warned that without continued vaccination, especially for displaced and high-risk populations, children in merged districts remain highly vulnerable to polio, says The Express Tribune.