370 Million Children In Low Income Countries To Receive Polio Vaccinations Following New Funding From EU, Others
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
Donor agencies, including the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced new funding to ensure 370 million children in low income countries receive Polio Vaccinations and boost health innovation.
The new financing partnership will address critical global health opportunities, eradicate polio and ensure that innovations in health are more accessible to the people who need them most.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF, will deploy the resources to eradicate polio, support the distribution of other childhood immunizations and strengthen health systems so they are better able to respond to emerging health threats as the implementing partners for the polio funding.
The expected 1.1 billion Euros financing package is to provide new funding to eradicate a human disease for only the second time in history and help solve the health and development challenges faced by the world’s most vulnerable people, who otherwise do not get fair access to healthcare services and innovations.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, Belgium said, the Global cooperation which helped put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now help get rid of polio once and for all.
According to him, the European Commission, the EIB and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering to get through the final stretch and with one billion euros supported by European investment strategy, Global Gateway, they will invest in stronger health systems globally and local vaccine and medicines production, manufacturing and administration, where it is most needed.
He said, the partnership marks a significant increase in funding for global health and human development under the European Commission’s European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) and is expected to include a match of new complementary funding for global health by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, maximising the impact of every Euro committed by the EU and the European Investment Bank.
The funds will cover polio vaccinations for nearly 370 million children annually; deliver vital health services to children alongside polio campaigns, including measles vaccines and other routine immunizations; and strengthen health systems to better prepare and respond to emerging health threats, as the polio program has done against COVID-19, Ebola, and other diseases.
Another €500 million aims at expanding the innovation capacity of health systems in low- and middle-income countries.
This includes new funding to initiatives supported by the European Commission such as efforts to make health innovations like mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics more accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries, under Europe’s investment plan for the world, Global Gateway.
