Karachi / Seattle, 30
November 2011: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today
announced new grants as part of its ongoing support to Pakistan’s polio eradication
program and to assist the Sindh government’s response to this year’s floods. The
grants will fund initiatives aiming to provide assistance to polio survivors as
well as address the urgent needs of families affected by the floods in parts of
Sindh province.
Sindh province experienced a significant
polio outbreak following the floods and currently accounts for nearly 20% of
cases reported in the country. So far this year Pakistan has reported 161 cases
of polio, more than any other country in the world.
“Pakistan announced important steps last week
to implement its emergency plan more effectively. If implemented well, rapid
progress can be made in stopping the virus,” said Michael Galway, a Senior
Program Officer for the foundation closely working with the Pakistan program.
“We hope our additional support demonstrates our ongoing commitment to Pakistan
as it deals with multiple challenges in managing the intense transmission of
polio while simultaneously responding to acute situations such as this year’s
flood in Sindh.”
The foundation has allocated more than 198
million rupees in grants for additional support to Pakistan in 2011. This
includes a grant to WHO to support the physical rehabilitation of more than 200
children paralyzed by polio; a grant to the Government of Sindh to directly
support more than 4,400 families in Umerkot and one other district affected by
this year’s floods and a grant to Save the Children to support relief
operations. Umerkot is one of 17 districts/towns in Sindh reporting polio this
year.
In August, the Gates Foundation and the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced a strategic
partnership to bolster Pakistan’s fight against polio. Through an
innovative financing mechanism, JICA extended a loan of 5.63 billion rupees to
the Government of Pakistan, which the
Gates Foundation will repay if Pakistan
meets polio eradication targets by 2013. Today’s grants will augment support to
WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank for vaccine procurement, immunization campaigns
and communication efforts for polio.
Progress against polio in Pakistan is
critical to achieve global eradication because polio anywhere means there is a
risk of polio everywhere. A recent outbreak in China proved to be genetically
linked to earlier transmission in Sindh while virus circulation in Afghanistan has
been linked to transmission of wild poliovirus in Sindh, Balochistan and
KP/FATA.
The government plans to increase
accountability for the polio program at the Union Council level as well as
efforts to ensure that vaccinators hired to deliver polio vaccines at the
household level are of the appropriate age and gender, better trained and
supervised, and paid on time and directly.
The foundation will continue to work with the
Government of Pakistan and other partners, including WHO, UNICEF and Rotary
International to ensure that all children, in Pakistan and around the world,
are protected from polio.
###
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has
equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people
lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on
improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of
hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all
people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the
opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle,
Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H.
Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
Learn more at www.gatesfoundation.org or join the
conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Contact:
Email: media@gatesfoundation.org
Phone: +1.206.709.3400
For more
information, please contact:
Asiatic
Public Relations Network - Khurram Zia khan or Afsar
Khan Ph: 35867576 – 35837678
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