Global leaders pledge Sh246 billion to eradicate polio worldwide
Global leaders and philanthropists have pledged $1.9 billion at an Abu Dhabi summit to support polio eradication, aiming to vaccinate 370 million children annually and strengthen health systems worldwide.
International leaders and health philanthropists have pledged $1.9 billion (Sh245.6 billion) to accelerate efforts to eradicate polio and protect millions of children worldwide.
The funds aim to reach 370 million children each year with vaccines and strengthen health systems in countries where preventable diseases remain a threat.
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The announcement came at the 'Investing in Humanity: Uniting to End Polio' event during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, hosted by the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity in partnership with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
The initiative has helped reduce polio cases by more than 99 per cent since 1988, but the virus still paralyses children in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, with variant strains continuing to threaten 18 other countries.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the new pledges would be instrumental in helping the GPEI reach all children in the final endemic countries and stop variant polio outbreaks around the world.
"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," he said.
Major contributions came from the Gates Foundation, which pledged $1.2 billion (Sh155 billion)and Rotary International, which added $450 million (Sh58.2 billion).
Other donors included the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity with $140 million (Sh18.1 billion), Bloomberg Philanthropies with $100 million (Sh12.9 billion), Pakistan with $154 million (Sh19.9 billion) and Germany with $62 million (Sh8 billion).
Similarly, the United States (US), Japan, Luxembourg, and the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America also made smaller contributions.
On his part, Bill Gates highlighted the importance of global cooperation, noting that the world is so close to eradicating polio but must maintain the same determination to finish the job.
"This renewed funding will help us cross the finish line and strengthen the systems that protect children from this terrible disease for good," he said.
Monday's pledging event marks the third time Abu Dhabi has hosted such a summit, with previous events in 2013 and 2019 raising $6.6 billion for GPEI.
Despite decades of progress, polio remains a threat. In 2025, 39 children in Afghanistan and Pakistan were paralysed by wild poliovirus.
According to experts, without sustained vaccination and international support, outbreaks could spread, undoing years of global effort to eliminate the disease.
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