Saudi Arabia's $500 Million Funds Polio Vaccinations

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) today announced the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged $500 million over the next five years to support the elimination of polio.

The GPEI stated on April 28, 2024, that these funds will yearly protect more than 370 million children with polio vaccines.

It will also facilitate the delivery of other life-saving interventions, such as nutritional supplements and bed nets, to underserved communities and strengthen health systems to better prepare countries for emerging health threats.

“For decades, polio inflicted lifelong suffering on children and families. Today, we take another step toward finally eradicating it, thanks to the generous contributions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. When we invest in eradicating polio, we make immunization and health systems more resilient, we equip nations to better respond to public health challenges, and most importantly, we ensure that more children can live healthy lives,” said Bill Gates in a press release.

The announcement builds on a long history of support from Saudi Arabia and regional partners to the global polio eradication effort as well as across the Eastern Mediterranean – the last region where wild polio is endemic.

For more than two decades, Saudi Arabia has not only financially supported the GPEI but has also advocated for polio eradication and access to other life-saving vaccines in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.

Unfortunately, the GPEI also reported several polio detections this past week.

• Afghanistan: 10 WPV1-positive environmental samples
• Pakistan: two WPV1-positive environmental samples
• Angola: one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample
• Nigeria: two cVDPV2 cases
• Somalia: one cVDPV2 case
• South Sudan: three cVDPV2 cases
• Yemen: one cVDPV2 case and eight positive environmental samples
• Zimbabwe: one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample

To better address the evolving risk of type 2 variant poliovirus (cVDPV2), the next-generation novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) is being deployed in countries affected by these outbreaks.