Saudi Arabia partners with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to tackle polio, poverty
Saudi Arabia and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have joined forces to help eradicate polio – protecting 370 million children annually – and lift millions more from poverty across 33 Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) member countries, the two parties announced in a press release sent on Sunday.
A fund exceeding $620 million was announced at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Riyadh by Dr. Abdullah al-Rabeeah, Advisor to the Royal Court and Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) and Fahad bin Abdurrahman al-Jalajel, Saudi Arabia’s minister of health, in the presence of World Health Organization’s Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom alongside Gates.
“In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the last remaining polio-endemic countries, we have significant progress, yet work remains to be done as the world pushes towards making eradication possible,” Al-Rabeeah said in the press release.
“The pledge from Saudi Arabia today will enhance the innovation and collaboration needed to eradicate this disease.”
Since Africa became wild polio-free in 2020, the only two wild polio endemic countries remaining are Pakistan and Afghanistan. The direct engagement of Middle Eastern countries, include Saudi Arabia, has helped drive polio cases in those countries down from more than 300 cases in 2014 to 12 in 2023.
The latest commitment from Saudi Arabia toward the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is the largest multiyear pledge, ensuring that essential health services are provided to hundreds of millions of children each year.
“Polio is a horrific disease that deserves to be in the history books once and for all,” Gates said in the press release.
He added: “I am proud to see the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, together wit partners across the Middle East, step up to help deliver more polio vaccines, measles immunizations, and other vital health services to millions of children every year.”
Saudi Arabia and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced several commitments
$500 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
Saudi Arabia has pledged $500 million over the next five years to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership led by national governments with six partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
This is the largest contribution made by the Kingdom to polio eradication efforts. This contribution will help deliver vital health services along with polio vaccines to underserved populations through the WHO and UNICEF.
Since polio eradication efforts began, the GPEI has reduced polio cases by 99 percent globally, eradicated two of three wild poliovirus strains, and helped save more than 20 million people from polio paralysis.
$17 million to Polio Legacy Challenge
Saudi Arabia and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have pledged $3 million and $15 million respectively over three years to support the Polio Legacy Challenge.
As Afghanistan, one of the last polio-endemic countries, approaches critical milestones for polio eradication, the Polio Legacy Challenge will be spearheaded by the ministries of health in countries across the region, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, with the support of the WHO EMRO Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks.
$100 million to Lives and Livelihoods Fund
Saudi Arabia will contribute $100 million to support the Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF), the largest multilateral development initiative in the Middle East, which aims to lift the poorest out of poverty across 33 IsDB member countries through investments in strengthening primary health care, eliminating preventable infectious diseases, supporting smallholder farming and rural agriculture, and improving basic infrastructure.
This commitment made by Saudi Arabia follows a renewed pledge of $50 million from the UAE to the LLF made earlier this week.
Regional office in Riyadh
To support the implementation of the programs, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will establish a regional office in Riyadh, in Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City, and partner with the MiSK Foundation to support youth engagement.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is also working with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health to ensure a safe and healthy Hajj pilgrimage by improving disease surveillance and testing, bringing safe and clean sanitation solutions to millions of Hajj pilgrims, and providing technical assistance to support Saudi Arabia’s vaccine manufacturing capabilities, with the aim of helping low- and middle-income countries access lower-cost vaccines.
“This investment towards global health isn’t just a good to have; it’s a strategic imperative for a thriving, more resilient future together, “ the Kingdom’s health minister said.
“The world faces many health challenges, and it is part of our responsibility and leadership to contribute with our partners in bridging the gaps, and through concerted efforts, we will be able to alleviate the suffering of many people.”
As part of their collaboration, KSrelief and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are each allocating $4 million as a humanitarian relief grant to meet the acute humanitarian needs in Gaza, which have disproportionately impacted women and children. This funding will be distributed through UNICEF to deliver health interventions and provide access to basic water and sanitation services.
