Microsoft founder Bill Gates praises UAE for polio eradication efforts

DUBAI // Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has praised the UAE’s efforts in eradicating polio but said more needs to be done globally to bring an end to the infectious disease.

“Every country in the world should want polio to be eradicated because every child is at risk as long as we still have polio in the world,” he said at a media event at the Ritz Carlton at Dubai International Financial Centre.

At a meeting with Emirati and Saudi Arabian officials and philanthropists to discuss the efforts of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the American said the UAE had provided millions of dollars of support for vaccinations and polio eradication.

Polio, which can lead to muscle weakness and paralysis, has been eradicated in all countries except Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

India was declared polio-free in 2011 but recent outbreaks in countries including Syria and Iraq have prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a public-health emergency. Mr Gates said the UAE’s pledges made it the “sixth or seventh” top donor in the world.

During the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi last year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, pledged US$120 million (Dh440.7m) towards efforts until 2018, which is the deadline that Mr Gates’ foundation has set for polio eradication.

The UAE and Mr Gates’ foundation each donated $50m over a three-year period as part of a mutual commitment in 2011.

“We are starting discussions about renewing that because I think that this is the last year that the money was pledged for,” Mr Gates said.

“In addition to the resource commitment, it’s important to mention that the UAE has been extremely helpful with carrying the message of vaccination.”

The UAE has gathered religious leaders to meet to encourage vaccination, and its army visited areas in northern Pakistan on a humanitarian mission.

“They were able to vaccinate a lot of children,” Mr Gates said. “That’s a very impressive piece of support that will be a big help.”

Limited polio outbreaks typically occur one to three times every year in places that had previously eradicated the disease. But prior to the unrest in Syria, these had mostly taken place in central Africa.

However, countries including Syria, Iraq, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Somalia have been re-infected, and the disease has also been found in sewage in Brazil and Israel. The Israel case was traced to Syria.

“In the case of Syria, until the civil war they were doing quite a good job of vaccinating the children, so children were well protected,” Mr Gates said. “Then, when the civil war broke out, the vaccination system broke down in general.”

He added that, despite new cases, the amount of funding needed to eliminate polio would probably be the same as previously announced.

“The UAE’s been very generous on polio and, in fact, the amount of money that we thought we’d need that we announced at the summit, which was $5.5 billion by 2018, we still think we’ll be able to stay in that budget,” Mr Gates said.

His foundation received funds from some new donors to help address the Syria outbreak, but he said the total was unlikely to increase and that he hoped the number of cases in Iraq could quickly be brought down to zero again.

“We did provide [in the budget] for some negative surprises, and that we’d need to fund those,” he said.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects young children. It has no cure and can be prevented only through immunisation, the WHO says. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness and limb pain. The virus can cause permanent paralysis.

The UAE has been polio-free since 1992, and routine immunisation has been mandatory since 1981, according to the organisation.

The WHO documented 416 polio cases in the world last year. As of June 17, it had recorded 103 cases this year, compared with 77 during the same period last year.

lcarroll@thenational.ae