MONITORING (SW) – At the Fourth Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, Saudi Arabia announced it would provide $500 million to help eradicate polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The funds will be allocated to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
A statement released during the forum on Monday, said: “This financial support, formalized through an official signing ceremony, is aimed at fighting polio in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and preventing the spread of mutated polio strains in other parts of the world.”
During the ceremony, an agreement was signed between Saudi officials, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and other key figures.
The agreement will assist the GPEI and its partners in vaccinating 370 million children annually against polio, working to permanently stop the virus’s transmission.
This funding was initially pledged at the first special session of the World Economic Forum held in Riyadh in April 2024. The chairman of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, stated: “The world is on track to permanently eradicate polio, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is honored to be part of this global initiative.”
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, emphasized the significant progress made in the fight against polio but acknowledged that the toughest challenge remains. “We have made progress toward eradicating this disease, but the hardest part is still ahead. This generous support from Saudi Arabia will enable us to vaccinate children in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas,” he said.
Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries where polio has not been completely eradicated. On Friday, February 21, the first polio case of the year 2025, was reported in Afghanistan’s Badghis province.
Additionally, the second round of polio vaccination campaigns has been launched in 16 Afghan provinces. The Ministry of Public Health under the Islamic Emirate announced on Monday that, in collaboration with international agencies, it has started the second subnational round of the polio vaccination campaign for 2025.
This campaign commenced on February 24 and will run until February 26. covering Kabul, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Nuristan, Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Uruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Baghlan, Herat, and Badghis.
Approximately 6.3 million children under five years old will receive the vaccine during this campaign.
