Bill Gates announced in Abu Dhabi on Thursday his foundation will contribute $ 1.8 billion to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a third of the total funds needed.
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"I am pleased to announce for the foundation that we are committed to fund a third of what is needed for this campaign," the Microsoft co-founder told the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi. "So for the fully funded campaign, that would be $1.8 billion that we are committed to."
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"There has been a total of four billion dollars raised here. That gives us 73 percent of" the $5.5 billion needed, he said.
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Other participants at the summit also announced their contributions — $457 million from Britain, $ 250 million from Canada, and $240 million from Norway.
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Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan announced he will donate $120 million.
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Germany, which had already pledged 100 million euros, announced it will donate a similar amount again. Meanwhile, the Islamic Development Bank offered $227 million.
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The number of worldwide polio infections plunged to 223 in 2012, compared to 360,000 in 1988 when the United Nations launched a campaign to eliminate the highly contagious and crippling illness.
Polio trully has to be eradicated so I agree with this move.
It makes a lot of sense to me.