Canada announces new support for global polio eradication

OTTAWA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — The Canadian federal government Friday announced new funding for the eradication of polio worldwide.
According to a news release issued by Global Affairs Canada, a total of 151 million Canadian dollars (111 million U.S. dollars) was earmarked to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), bringing Canada’s historical contribution to over 1 billion Canadian dollars (737 million U.S. dollars) since 2000.
GPEI and partners like UNICEF and the World Health Organization will deliver and expand quality, accessible polio immunization and health services around the world including conflict-affected regions where there is little or no access to essential health services, it said.
Efforts will focus on stopping the transmission of all forms of poliovirus by vaccinating more than 370 million children annually against polio, preventing 600,000 children annually from suffering from paralysis and death.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that affects children under five and can result in severe paralysis and death. Since the launch of the GPEI in 1988, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunized against polio. Although polio cases have decreased by 99 percent worldwide, the disease has not yet been eradicated.
In August 2024, when Gaza had its first cases after being polio-free for 25 years, GPEI partners mobilized quickly to administer the first round of vaccines to more than 560,000 children across the region to contain the spread of the disease. ■