At a summit in Berlin, world leaders pledged $ 2.6 billion in funding to eradicate polio “once and for all.” Over the next five years, 370 million children will need to be vaccinated every year.
The wild polio virus is endemic in only two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan. But 29 cases have already been registered this year, far more than last year’s 6 cases. There were also in Southeast Africa some infections, which turned out to be related to the Pakistani tribe. And outbreaks of polio virus variants continue to emerge that can arise in places where not enough people have been immunized. This happened in Africa, Asia and Europe.
At an international summit in Berlin, $ 2.6 billion has now been pledged to eradicate the disease once and for all in the coming years. Donors include Germany and France, the United States and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Need more
“We are grateful for donor support, but there is still a need to fully fund the 2022-2026 strategy,” said Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO). “The new findings of polio in previously polio-free countries remind us that if we don’t achieve our goal of eradicating polio everywhere, it could reappear around the world.”
“Children deserve to live in a polio-free world.”
According to WHO, full implementation of the strategy will cost a total of $ 4.8 billion by 2026. This is still an excellent investment, WHO says, as complete polio eradication will save 33.1 billion. dollars this century in health care costs.
“Children deserve to live in a polio-free world, but as it became painfully clear this year, the threat of polio will continue until we reach every community and vaccinate every child,” said UNICEF director Catherine Russell . “When we invest in vaccinations and health systems, we invest in a safer and healthier future for everyone, everywhere.”
