Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledge $1.2 billion to eradicate polio
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[October 17, 2022]
(Reuters) - Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation said on Sunday that it will commit $1.2 billion to support
efforts to end all forms of polio globally.
Polio is a highly infectious disease spread mainly through contamination
by faecal matter, used to kill and paralyse thousands of children
annually. While there is no known cure, three injections of the vaccine
provide nearly 100% immunity.
Governments and foundations aim to end polio in Pakistan and
Afghanistan, the last two countries where the virus remains endemic.
"The last steps to eradication are by far the toughest. But our
foundation remains dedicated to a polio-free future, and we're
optimistic that we will see it soon," said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation, which is run by Microsoft Corp co-founder
Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates.
Last month, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Brazil, the
Dominican Republic, Haiti and Peru are at very high risk for the
reintroduction of polio. New York state is accelerating efforts to
vaccinate residents after the virus was detected in wastewater samples.
Cases were also detected in London and Jerusalem.
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Polio vaccine drops are administered to
a child at a civil dispensary in Peshawar, Pakistan July 11, 2019.
REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz
In March, a senior World Health
Organization official said that the world is at a 'dangerous moment'
in the fight against diseases like polio, after an outbreak in
Malawi.
The announcement came ahead of a key pledging moment that will be
co-hosted by Germany and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)
on Oct. 18. The Gates Foundation is part of the GPEI, a major
project between governments and international organisations. The
foundation has contributed nearly $5 billion to GPEI.
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru and Jennifer Rigby in
London; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Frank Jack Daniel)
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