New aid to help stop variant polio outbreaks, says WHO

International leaders, philanthropists, and global health partners announced on Monday in Abu Dhabi a collective $1.9 billion to advance polio eradication.

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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.

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; $IOO 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.