Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bill Gates announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed an additional $102 million to support efforts to eradicate Polio. British Prime Minister David Cameron also announced that the United Kingdom would double its current contribution to polio eradication (to a total of 60 million pounds).
Mr Cameron called on other donors to back the Global Polio Eradication Initiative as he announced the UK’s commitment that will see an extra 45 million children fully vaccinated against the disease.
In 20 years, polio cases have been reduced by 99 percent and the disease is now close to being only the second in history – after smallpox – to be wiped out. In 2010, India and Nigeria – historically the toughest challenges to eradication – cut cases by 95 percent each. However, today polio still exists in more than a dozen countries, crippling and killing children.
“We have come so far in eradicating polio. We are so close to delivering a polio-free world for all our children. Let’s finish the job. And let’s eradicate polio once-and-for-all,” said Prime Minister David Cameron.
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New global partnership to focus on reducing maternal and newborn mortality
USAID, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Norway, Grand Challenges Canada, and the World Bank will announce tomorrow a new partnership that will seek innovative solutions to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in developing countries.
The launch event will be webcast live tomorrow (March 9) at 9:00am EST.
Filed under: Commentary on news & events, Public health | Tagged: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, global health, maternal health, Millenium Development Goals, USAID, world bank | Leave a Comment »