$2.6bn financial assistance pledged for global polio eradication

ISLAMABAD: The world leaders pledged $2.6 billion financial assistance for eradicating polio from the world at the World Health Summit in Berlin.

The funding will help inoculate 370 million children annually over the next five years and continue disease surveillance across 50 countries under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) 2022-2026 Strategy.

“No place is safe until polio is eradicated from all parts of the world. The virus existing anywhere in the world could spread to polio free countries. We want to jointly seize the chance of eradicating polio,” said Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany.

Germany would remain a strong and committed partner in the global fight against polio, said Schulze, adding, “This year, Germany is providing 35 million euros for the cause and it has planned to contribute 37 million euros next year subjected to the parliamentary approval.

Wild poliovirus is endemic in just two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan. During the year, 29 cases have been recorded so far, including a small number of new detections in southeast Africa.

Additionally, some of the poliovirus variants could emerge in places where not enough people were immunized. “The re-emergence of polio cases in polio-free countries is a stark reminder that if we do not deliver our goal of ending polio everywhere, it may resurge globally,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“We are grateful for donors’ new and continued support for eradication, but there is more work to do to meet the funding requirement for the 2022-2026 Strategy,” the DG WHO said. At a challenging time for countries around the world, governments and partners have stepped forward to demonstrate their collective resolve to eradicate the second most-prevailing human disease ever.

In addition to existing pledges, new commitments to the 2022-2026 Strategy include Australia, 43.55 million Australian dollars; France, 50 million euros; Germany, 72 million euros; Japan, $11 million; Korea, KRW 4.5 billion; Luxembourg, 1.7 million euros; Malta, 30,000 euros; Monaco, 450,000 euros; Spain, 100,000 euros; Turkey, $ 20 000; USA, $114 million; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $1.2 billion; Bloomberg Philanthropies, $50 million; Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, $1.8 million; Latter-day Saint Charities, $400,000, Rotary International, $150 million and UNICEF, $5 million.

The pledging moment in Berlin marked the first major opportunity to pledge support toward the $4.8 billion needed to fully implement the 2022-2026 Strategy. The complete eradication of poliovirus from the world will save $33.1 billion this century, the amount likely to spend on controlling outbreaks. Further, continued support for GPEI will enable it to deliver additional health services and immunizations alongside polio vaccines to underserved communities.

“UNICEF is grateful for the generosity of our donors and the pledges made, which will help us finish the job of eradicating polio, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. In addition to the funding for GPEI announced today, a group of more than 3 000 influential scientists, physicians, and public health experts from around the world released a declaration endorsing the 2022-2026 Strategy and calling on donors to stay committed to eradication and ensure GPEI is fully funded.

The group points to new tactics contained in the program’s strategy, like the continued rollout of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2. Five hundred million doses of nOPV2 have already been administered across 23 countries, and field data continues to show its promising results.

“Pakistan has made incredible progress against polio, but recent challenges have allowed the virus to persist,” says Dr. Zulfi Bhutta, adding, “Polio, like any virus, knows no borders; its continued transmission threatens children everywhere.