Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: World Polio Day 2011
25 OCTOBER 2011 - Thanks to two decades of collective action, the international community is on the brink of eradicating polio. Worldwide efforts since 1988 have reduced the number of polio cases by 99 percent. A number of PMNCH partners, most notably the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have been leading the charge to ensure no child is at risk of either contracting or transmitting this crippling disease.
This week the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a global community of partners are calling for increased commitment and greater accountability from political leaders to end polio, and for supporters around the world to lend their voices to the fight. “We have an extraordinary opportunity to eradicate polio but we need greater global commitment, leadership, and funding,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “We work with exceptional partners like Rotary, FC Barcelona and the Global Poverty Project to help keep polio a priority.”