LONDON: A major fundraising event to bolster the global campaign to eradicate polio will take place at a pivotal time in regional efforts to stop the disease, health officials said on Thursday.
The UAE is hosting a “pledging moment” next week to build investment in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
The campaign has helped wipe out the disease across most of the world, but wild polio remains endemic in just two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Doctors overseeing vaccination efforts believe the coming months could see a major leap toward eradicating polio in both countries.
Dr. Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said the fundraising event in Abu Dhabi comes at “exactly the right time to support countries through critical, low transmission seasons.”
