Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: International leaders, philanthropists, and global health partners announced in Abu Dhabi on December 8 a collective $1.9 billion to advance polio eradication. This includes approximately $1.2 billion in newly pledged funds that will reduce the remaining resource gap for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) 2022-2029 Strategy to $440 million.
The funds will accelerate vital efforts to reach 370 million children each year with polio vaccines, alongside strengthening health systems in affected countries to protect children from other preventable diseases. The global pledging event, “Investing in Humanity: Uniting to End Polio”, was hosted by the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity in partnership with GPEI and took place at Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
The event was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice- Chairman of the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity; Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Minister for Planning and Development, Pakistan; Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation; and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation; alongside leaders from governments, multilateral institutions, and the private sector.
Pledges were made from a diverse group of donors and countries, including $1.2 billion from the Gates Foundation; $140 million from the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity; $450 million from Rotary International; $100 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies; $154 million from Pakistan and $62 million from Germany; $46 million from the United States of America; $6 million from Japan; $4 million from the Islamic Food & Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA); and $3 million from Luxembourg.
“We are on the cusp of eradicating polio and securing a historic win for humanity. But we need all countries, partners and donors to step up now to get the job done,” said Dr Ghebreyesus. “The new support pledged in Abu Dhabi will be instrumental in helping the GPEI reach all children in the final endemic countries and stop variant polio outbreaks around the world.” President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is a global leader in polio eradication, committing $525 million since 2011 and bringing global resources and attention to the cause.
The UAE’s Emirates Polio Campaign has also distributed more than 850 million vaccine doses to children across Pakistan since 2014, with a focus on immunising children in remote and hard-to-reach communities.
“… pledges demonstrate our shared determination to end polio and protect every child from this preventable disease,” said Sheikha Mariam bint Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chair of the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity.
“The fight to end polio shows what is possible when the world invests together in a shared goal. We’re 99.9 percent of the way there – but the last stretch demands the same determination that got us this far,” said Bill Gates. “This renewed funding will help us cross the finish line and strengthen the systems that protect children from this terrible disease for good.”
