In 2021, Polio Pledge: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation moves to eradicate polio

POLIO PLEDGE – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will commit a further $1.2 billion to support efforts to end all forms of polio globally.

The move comes as the world looks to complete the last steps in the eradication of the disease.

The foundation’s CEO says “the last steps to eradication are by far the toughest. But our foundation remains dedicated to a polio-free future.”

The foundation is run by Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates.

The fight against polio has been ongoing for years, with significant progress made over recent decades.

The WHO launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. Back then, there were 350,000 reported cases of wild poliovirus across 125 countries.

Just 649 cases were reported to health authorities in 2021.

However, despite this progress, finishing the job has proven difficult.

New outbreaks have occurred in nations previously declared “polio-free” due to vaccine-derived poliovirus, a strain which can re-emerge if immunisation coverage is low or sanitation conditions are poor.

Polio is a highly infectious disease which is spread mainly through faecal matter. It is responsible for the deaths and paralysis of thousands of children.

While there is no known cure, vaccines provide nearly 100 per cent immunity.