Aspirant Pakistanis, already facing various hurdles in traveling abroad, must now possess a mandatory polio vaccination certificate to travel to Saudi Arabia, according to new instructions issued by the Kingdom’s civil aviation authority.
The mandatory requirement applies to travellers from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, Congo, and Mozambique and would result in legal action coupled with severe penalties for those found violating the directives.
RecommendedMust Read
However, people travelling through these countries who do not leave the transit area in 12 hours will be exempted from this requirement, said the Kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
The development comes as Pakistan remains one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, with as many as 69 cases reported in 2024.
Balochistan emerged as the worst-affected province with 27 cases followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 21. Sindh reported the third highest cases with 19 children being crippled by the disease whereas one case each was reported in Punjab and Islamabad.
Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme explains that polio is a “paralysing” disease with “no cure” and “the completion of the routine vaccination for all children under the age of five” just provides them “high immunity against this terrible disease”.
