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"This is the final, and hardest, phase of the eradication
effort, but by keeping up the momentum and staying vigilant,
Pakistan has an opportunity to make history by ending polio for
good," Gates said in a statement. "Pakistan's commitment to
ending polio is inspiring."
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, of which Gates is co-chair,
is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a
major project between governments and international
organisations.
Pakistan, along with neighbouring Afghanistan, is one of two
countries in the world where polio continues to circulate.
Health and humanitarian officials say Pakistan's attempts to
eradicate the disease are at a hopeful but sensitive stage. No
children have been paralysed by wild polio in Pakistan in more
than a year, according to the Gates Foundation, but the virus
was detected in December in sewerage samples in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province.
During Gates's first official visit to Pakistan he also met with
the country's COVID-19 National Command and Operation Centre,
which leads the country's response to the pandemic.
Pakistan President Arif Alvi conferred the award of Hilal-e-Pakistan,
the country's second-highest civilian award, to Gates at an
investiture ceremony.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by David Holmes)
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