Bill Gates urges countries to join hands in fight against polio

KABUL (Pajhwok): Following the launch of a polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan, Bill Gates urged countries of the world to take part in the fight against the virus.

Success in the fight to wipe out polio is not guaranteed, according to tech billionaire turned philanthropist Bill Gates, whose foundation has poured billions into the effort, Reuters reported.

Gates warned against complacency in tackling the deadly viral disease as he welcomed a $500 million pledge from Saudi Arabia on Sunday to fight polio over the next five years, bringing it in line with the U.S. as one of the biggest national donors.

Cases of polio, a viral disease that used to paralyse thousands of children every year, have declined by more than 99% since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns, the media report added.

But the aim of getting cases down to zero, particularly in the two countries where the wild form of the virus remains endemic – Afghanistan and Pakistan – has been held up by insecurity in the regions where pockets of children remain unvaccinated.

“It’s not guaranteed that we will succeed,” Gates told Reuters in an online call last week. “I feel very strongly that we can succeed, but it’s been difficult.”

However, there is still a $1.2 billion dollar funding gap in the $4.8 billion budget for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) up to 2026, a spokesperson said. The new money from Saudi Arabia will go some way towards closing that.

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