Gates Foundation contributes $1.2 billion to the fight to eradicate polio worldwide
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced today that its contributions have made a big difference in eradicating polio after more than 70 years.
Bill Gates has pledged more than $1.2 billion in support of global health initiatives over the years, as he works to fight the diseases of poverty and poor health that are plaguing the world. Last year, the Gates Foundation committed $6.1 billion to global health – a figure that will undoubtedly continue to grow as he and Melinda Gates expand their focus to address the global health crisis.
A new United Nations report reveals the dramatic global scale of the polio crisis that continues to afflict hundreds of thousands of children in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The report, released by UNICEF and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, says that each year, 3.5 million children are paralyzed and paralyzed children still continue to be affected by the disease. The global community can mobilize to help eradication, and prevent a recurrence of this global health emergency.
To help eradicate polio, the Gates Foundation is committed to reducing the risk of future outbreaks by providing $30 million to UNICEF and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), $15 million to the World Bank, and $25 million to Afghanistan to enable the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, Afghan Ministry for Sanitation and Emergency Health Services, and Afghanistan’s National Program for Polio Control.
“We are thrilled to share that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made a very significant contribution to eradicating polio,” said David Heymann, Director of the Gates Foundation. “This is a global health emergency, and like so many other such emergencies, eradication of polio in each and every country is a global problem that requires a global solution. The world needs to stand up together to stop the disease from infecting more people.”
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