Global leaders like Gates Foundation commit $2.46 billion to eradicate polio amid funding cuts
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
“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,” said WHO.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
ABU DHABI – Global leaders pledged US$1.9 billion (S$2.46 billion) to advance polio eradication on Dec 8, accelerating efforts to protect 370 million children from polio each year amid significant funding cuts.
The budget of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a partnership that includes the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Gates Foundation, is expected to take a 30 per cent cut in 2026 and has a funding gap of US$1.7 billion up to 2029.
The shortfall is largely due to a global pullback from foreign aid, led by the US, which is withdrawing from WHO
Other wealthy donor governments like Germany and Britain have also made cuts.
The GPEI partners, in response, plan to focus more on surveillance and vaccination in areas with a high risk of polio transmission.
“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,” said Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.
The pledging event, hosted by The Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation For Humanity at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, will reduce the remaining resource gap for GPEI’s 2022 to 2029 strategy to US$440 million.
Pledges were made from a diverse group of donors and countries, including US$1.2 billion from the Gates Foundation and US$450 million from Rotary International. REUTERS
