Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its $ 500 million commitment to the global polio eradication initiative (GPE), with the aim of eradicating wild polio and control Health (WHO) announced Monday.
The funds, originally promised in April 2024, will be assigned to support efforts to eliminate the wild tension of the virus, which remains endemic in both countries. Together, Pakistan and Afghanistan reported 99 cases of wild polio in the previous year, according to WHO data.
GPEI has established new target dates, with the aim of ending the wild polio by 2027 and polyomyelitis derived from the vaccine by 2029, extended from the original 2026 objective for both.
Meanwhile, the United States, historically one of the main donors of GPE, has announced its intention to retire from WHO, a measure that could affect funds for global health initiative. Despite this, the United States contributed 17 percent of the GPE budget for 2024-2025, according to WHO.
