Saudi Arabia on Sunday committed $500 million to a polio vaccination program with private sector partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF). In return, the Gates Foundation agreed to open an office in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
“While great progress has been made in the last remaining polio-endemic countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, there is still work to be done as the world moves towards possible eradication. Today. Saudi Arabia’s pledge will strengthen the innovation and cooperation needed to eradicate this disease.” Said Dr. Abdullah A. Al Rabia, Supervising Director, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center;
“Working with our partners the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF), the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the Islamic Development Bank, and key countries in the region, our support will not only eradicate polio, but also It also aims to strengthen local health systems in the region,” Dr Al Rabia said when the pledge was announced.
“Polio is a terrible disease that deserves a place in the history books forever. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is working with partners across the Middle East to provide more polio vaccines, measles immunizations and other critical medical care to millions of children each year. I’m proud to help you deliver that service,” Bill Gates responded.
“This global health investment will help strengthen and build more resilient health systems and communities in the face of multiple crises around the world,” Gates said.
The announcement was made during a certain period 2 day conference At the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Riyadh, international cooperation on “global challenges” including polio will be discussed. The conference’s biggest concern is that global growth in 2024 will be some of the “slowest five-year GDP growth in 30 years” thanks to the Wuhan coronavirus and disappointing post-pandemic recovery. It was predicted that the economy would “slow down.”
His Excellency Faisal Alibrahim, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economic Planning, invites world leaders to Riyadh to attend the World Economic Forum’s Special Conference on Energy for Global Cooperation, Growth and Development on April 29, 2024. welcome. (AETOSWire, via AP)
B&MGF is one of six private partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), which is about $1.2 billion short of its $4.8 billion budget for the next three years. GPEI has failed to meet its fundraising and vaccination goals every year since the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak began in 2000.
Despite this lack of funding, the GPEI To tell Since its founding in 1988, its efforts have reduced polio cases by 99% worldwide and completely eliminated two of the three known “wild poliovirus” strains (WPV). GPEI I will explain The current program is the End Polio Strategy, which aims to effectively eliminate the last polio strain, WPV1, by 2026.
gates complained Last week, it said a slowing global economy, developed countries’ “complacency” on polio and the unstable security situation in the worst polio endemic areas were contributing to the decline in donations.
“There is no guarantee that we will be successful. We feel strongly that we can be successful, but it has been difficult,” he said.
“If we’re still here in 10 years, people might advise me to give up. But I don’t think we’ll be. If all goes well, we’ll be done within three years.” ” he added.
In addition to financial benefits, the B&MGF-Saudi deal could have important political implications. This is because the worst polio-affected areas remain in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Saudi Arabia’s influence as a developed Muslim country could help secure these areas for vaccination efforts.
Taliban military government rules Afghanistan announced A new polio vaccination campaign began on Monday, with the ostensible goal of inoculating 10.72 million children under five over the next four days. The two states currently experiencing severe weather will have separate vaccination drives at a later date.
“Together with our partners, we are committed to eradicating polio from Afghanistan. We will continue our campaign and complementary health services,” said Taliban Health Minister Dr. Qalandar Ibad.
Mr. Ibard’s ministry has pushed hard for tribal elders and religious leaders to cooperate with vaccination programs, and has made clear that local governments do not believe that vaccinations cause infertility or that vaccination technicians are working in hostile foreign countries. He tacitly admitted that he sometimes tells his followers that they are agents. The Taliban had actually banned door-to-door vaccination campaigns until the end of 2021. persuaded them To allow practice.
pakistan saw An alarming resurgence Despite 100 vaccinations administered over the past decade, WPV1 infections have decreased this year. Although the number of newly reported cases is relatively low, the distribution pattern suggests that there are many more unreported cases in remote and dangerous areas of Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) along the border with Afghanistan. has been done.
At least half of Pakistan’s known polio cases origin In some years, all reported infections were from that region. Many residents believe that vaccination is an evil plot by the West to sterilize Muslims and reduce the population. Poor sanitation and malnutrition contribute to the rapid spread of disease, but terrorist violence Medical expeditions become difficult.
The third most polio-endemic country is NigeriaAlthough the country optimistically announced polio eradication in 2020, a variant strain began circulating among children in remote villages last year. This new strain was found to be resistant to previous inoculations, so a new vaccination program using fractionally inactivated poliovirus was launched in 2023.
World health officials tracking An increasing number of non-polio enteroviruses also tend to infect young children and, in severe cases, can cause paralyzing symptoms similar to polio. The “complacency” that Gates complained about has led to a lack of exposure to these enteroviruses, as the majority of young patients in developed countries recover without serious effects thanks to a high-quality diet and medical care. The response has been delayed.
