Global leaders, major donors, and health organisations have pledged $1.9 billion in Abu Dhabi to accelerate the worldwide effort to eradicate polio, aiming to protect more than 370 million children annually. The commitment was announced at the “Investing in Humanity” event during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, hosted by the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity in partnership with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
The new funding — including $1.2 billion in fresh commitments — will help narrow the financial gap for GPEI’s 2022–2029 strategy and bolster health systems in vulnerable regions. Senior officials and global health leaders highlighted that polio eradication is now within reach, with cases reduced by 99.9% worldwide. However, risks remain, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only two countries where wild poliovirus is still endemic.
Attendees, including Bill Gates, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and UAE officials, stressed the need for sustained global cooperation. The UAE’s leadership has played a prominent role, providing extensive funding and delivering over 850 million vaccine doses to children in Pakistan since 2014. Speakers underscored that eradicating polio would mark only the second human disease ever eliminated and could save the world more than $33 billion by 2100.
The Abu Dhabi pledging event — the third hosted by the UAE — builds on previous successful funding rounds and reinforces the global commitment to ending polio for good.