The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $1.2 billion to the endeavor to end polio across the globe.
The announcement at the World Health Summit in Berlin on Sunday marks the foundation’s largest financial commitment yet to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). The GPEI is a public-private partnership led by national governments, the Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Gates Foundation’s money helps actualize the GPEI’s Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026. The strategy will emphasize “cutting outbreak response times, increasing vaccine demand…increasing access in inaccessible areas, transitioning towards government ownership, and improving decision-making and accountability.”
The strategy focuses on eradicating polio in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have reported 20 cases and two cases, respectively.
Under Taliban control in Afghanistan, polio teams were banned, and most people lacked access to vaccines. Within the last year, however, the Taliban has agreed to allow United Nations health workers to begin a campaign in their territory.
“Polio eradication is within reach. But as far as we’ve come, the disease remains a threat,” said Bill Gates. “Working together, the world can end this disease.”
Gates, 66, claimed polio came close to being eradicated in the spring, but there were new outbreaks in Africa, and a single case paralyzed a man in New York.
“About six months ago was the closest we’ve ever been,” he said.
Eliminating polio has been the foundation’s top priority for more than a decade, as it has donated almost $5 billion directly to the cause.
“We’re very committed,” said Gates. “I can’t say forever, but giving up would mean hundreds of thousands of kids being paralyzed.”
Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said, “The last steps to eradication are by far the toughest. But our foundation remains dedicated to a polio-free future, and we’re optimistic we will see it soon.”
Many experts have questioned whether more money is needed to eradicate polio, as it is already one of the most-funded initiatives in global public health. While polio has been reduced by more than 99%, it remains in war-torn regions of nations like Afghanistan and Pakistan.    Â
Announces this days after BillyG gets lambasted in ‘The Real Anthony Fauci’ movie release.
Just making an observation. Not criticizing the specific donation on its own merits.