2023-11-10 22:09:03
The European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a new financing partnership to seize the critical opportunities in global health: eradicating polio and ensuring a better access to health innovations for those who need them most. The World Health Organization and UNICEF, as implementing partners in polio financing, will deploy the resources needed to eradicate polio, support the distribution of other childhood immunizations, and strengthen health systems so that they are better able to respond to emerging health threats.
The planned financial package of €1.1 billion aims to provide new funding to eradicate a human disease for only the second time in history and help solve the health and development challenges of the world’s most vulnerable populations. world to give them equitable access to health care services and innovations, which they do not currently benefit from.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula, said: “ We are on the verge of eradicating polio from the face of the earth. The European Commission, the EIB and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are joining forces to navigate the home stretch. With €1 billion in funding under our European Global Gateway investment strategy, we will invest in stronger health systems globally and in local production, manufacturing and administration of vaccines and medicines, where the need is most pressing. Global cooperation helped us end the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it will help us get rid of polio once and for all. »
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+); It is expected to include a match for additional new global health funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, maximizing the impact of every euro committed by the EU and the European Investment Bank.
« Today, we are united to write the final chapter in the polio story. The European Investment Bank is working in a unique partnership with partners in philanthropy and health, providing €500 million in investments to support the global agenda to eradicate poliomyelitis. This initiative will mark an important step in strengthening immunization and health care, ensuring that every child, regardless of their situation, can be protected once morest polio “, said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.
To accelerate progress in eradicating wild poliovirus, the partnership plans to contribute €500 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, in particular to the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The funding will make it possible to administer the polio vaccine to nearly 370 million children each year; provide vital health services to children alongside polio vaccination campaigns, including measles vaccines and other routine immunizations; and strengthen health systems to better prepare for and respond to emerging health threats, as the polio program has done in the face of COVID-19, Ebola and other other diseases. Today, wild poliovirus remains endemic in only two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and 80% of poliovirus variant cases occur in just four subnational regions.
« Thanks to innovations in the medical field, the world has eradicated a human disease, smallpox. Today, we are on the verge of eliminating another, wild poliovirus. I am committed to ensuring that no child, anywhere in the world, is exposed to this terrible disease. I am also optimistic that we will eradicate polio once and for all and make health innovations more accessible to everyone, especially in poorer countries said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
An additional envelope of 500 million euros will be earmarked for developing the innovation capacity of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. This includes, among other things, new funding for initiatives supported by the European Commission, including efforts to make health innovations such as mRNA vaccines and treatments more accessible to people. living in low- and middle-income countries, as part of the EU’s investment plan for the world, ‘Global Gateway’. Global leaders and partners will examine opportunities for additional health investments around the world at the next forum Global Gateway (October 25-26).
« Thanks to the leadership and partnership of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank, those who need them most should benefit from vaccines, medicines and other life-saving innovations, improving the health of communities across the world. whole world. We know that when a community is healthy, economies grow said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
« Reaching unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children in the most remote and hard-to-reach areas is essential to successfully complete the work of polio eradicationsaid Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “These new funds will not only help put us on the path to a polio-free world, but also build more sustainable and resilient health systems to protect children and communities at risk from polio from the many others. health threats they face. »
« Polio eradication is within reach, but progress is fragile and we must remain fully focused on our goalsaid Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF. “This new funding will help ensure that all children are vaccinated to eradicate polio, while strengthening local health systems. No child should suffer from an easily preventable illness. »
More specifically, the financing partnership should include:
a new financial package of 500 million euros for the global initiative to eradicate polio (as shown above);
500 million euros of investments and grants to improve access to health innovations, strengthen health systems and prepare for future pandemics: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to provide 250 million euros in grants and investments in return for the 250 million euros in investments made available by the European Investment Bank and guaranteed by the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus;
80 million euros in grants for technical assistance: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to match the 40 million euros in grants from the European Commission to provide technical assistance and ensure that global health programs reach their full potential.
The partnership announced today builds on existing partnerships between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the European Commission and Member States, including a package of support measures of 100 million euros for the recently created African Medicines Agency (AMA) (in English) and African national drug regulatory agencies or regional initiatives, the African Health Diagnostics Platform, which helps African partners increase access to and reduce costs of laboratory tests, and coordination of health initiatives, such as COVAXa global collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life is of equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation strives to help everyone lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it works to improve the health of populations and offer them the opportunity to escape hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, she aims to ensure that everyone, especially those with the fewest resources, has access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and in life. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the leadership of co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates and the Board of Directors.
This press release was first published on the website of l’OMS.
About the European Commission
The Commission contributes to the EU’s overall strategy, proposes new EU legislation and policies, monitors their implementation and manages the EU budget. It also plays an important role in international development aid. In 2021, the European Commission launched Global Gateway, Europe’s investment strategy for the world. Global Gateway is a proposal, addressed by the Union to partner countries, to help them in their efforts for sustainable growth, ecological and digital transitions as well as the development and well-being of communities. Worldwide, Global Gateway aims to mobilize €300 billion in investment between 2021 and 2027 through grants, concessional loans and guarantees to reduce risks to private sector investments. Global Gateway invests in a wide range of projects, from hard infrastructure to health programs, in accordance with the EU global health strategy.
Regarding the global polio eradication initiative
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership led by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. , UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Since its launch in 1988, this partnership has helped prevent more than 20 million cases of paralysis, more than 1.5 million child deaths and reduce the incidence of wild poliovirus by 99%, from more than 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries to seven cases in two endemic countries in 2023. For more information, please visit: www.polioeradication.org (in English)
Media contact: [email protected]
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