Global leaders and philanthropies have pledged US$1.9bn to eradicate polio, marking a critical step toward ending one of the world’s most persistent diseases. The commitments made in Abu Dhabi 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.
Pledges came from a diverse group of donors and countries, including: $1.2bn from the Gates Foundation; $140m from the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity; $450m from Rotary International; $100m from Bloomberg Philanthropies; $154m from Pakistan and $62m from Germany; $46m from the United States of America; $6m from Japan; $4m from the Islamic Food & Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA); and $3m from Luxembourg.
Polio – a contagious disease for which there is no cure – once affected more than 125 countries around the world and paralysed 1,000 children a day. But thanks to global efforts, cases have dropped by 99.9 per cent since 1988.
Wild poliovirus is now endemic in only two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan – but outbreaks of variant poliovirus still threaten children around the world.
“The fight to end polio shows what is possible when the world invests together in a shared goal. We’re 99.9 percent of the way there – but the last stretch demands the same determination that got us this far,” said Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, who attended the event in Abu Dhabi. “This renewed funding will help us cross the finish line and strengthen the systems that protect children from this terrible disease for good,” he added.
“We are on the cusp of eradicating polio and securing a historic win for humanity. But we need all countries, partners and donors to step up now to get the job done,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “The new support pledged in Abu Dhabi will be instrumental in helping the GPEI reach all children in the final endemic countries and stop variant polio outbreaks around the world.”
"We are on the cusp of eradicating polio and securing a historic win for humanity"
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization
The pledging moment, which took place at Abu Dhabi Finance Week in the UAE capital, was hosted by the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity in partnership with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
It is the third to have taken place in Abu Dhabi, following earlier summits in 2013 and 2019 that collectively raised $6.6 billion for GPEI’s work to end polio.
Since 2011, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, has committed $525m to polio eradication, and played a major role in focussing global attention to the cause.
Meanwhile, the UAE’s Emirates Polio Campaign has also distributed more than 850 million vaccine doses to children across Pakistan since 2014, with a focus on immunising children in remote and hard-to-reach communities.
"Decades of progress has proved that a polio-free world is within our reach when we act together, said Sheikha Mariam bint Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chair of the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity. "These pledges demonstrate our shared determination to end polio and protect every child from this preventable disease. We are proud to stand with countries, donors and partners as we work hand-in-hand to achieve it."
"This renewed funding will help us cross the finish line and strengthen the systems that protect children from this terrible disease for good."
Bill Gates, Chairman of the Gates Foundation
Global efforts to reach every child with polio vaccines have been credited for broader improvements in broader health infrastructure such as routine immunisation, disease surveillance, and emergency response.
Yet, despite the progress made in the fight against polio, the journey toward eradication is not linear. After historic lows in 2021 and 2023, wild polio has this year alone tragically paralysed 39 children in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while outbreaks of variant poliovirus continue in 18 countries, underscoring that persistent challenges in reaching every child remain.
Commenting on the Abu Dhabi pledges, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said: “These generous pledges made by donors will help community health workers worldwide in reaching every child, especially those who are consistently missing vaccination in the most fragile and conflict affected areas.”
Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, meanwhile praised the UAE’s role in mobilising efforts to fight polio. “Decades of global partnership—including the convening power of the UAE and other key supporters—have brought us closer than ever before to ending polio,” she said. “As we continue to work innovatively towards this shared goal, this new funding gives us renewed confidence that one day soon we can achieve a polio-free future for all children.”
And Mike McGovern, Chair of Rotary International’s International PolioPlus Committee, added: “Twenty million people are walking today because of polio vaccination, and we have learned, improved and innovated along the way. Rotary remains committed to seeing this fight through to the end.”
