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Gates Foundation spearheads Polio Legacy Challenge for Afghanistan
The polio campaign will be done in conjunction with the Islamic Development Bank, along with Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation along with Qatar will launch the Polio Legacy Challenge to help eradicate the disease in Afghanistan, a top official of the organisation told Gulf Times.
According to Chris Elias, the president of the Global Development Division at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the campaign will be done in conjunction with the Islamic Development Bank, along with Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“With our work on polio eradication, we are actually launching something called the Polio Legacy Challenge with the Islamic Development Bank.
“Gates Foundation and the governments of Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia will provide some funding through the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund to support the primary healthcare system in Afghanistan,” Elias said.
“This is a new initiative that is just beginning now. We are basically working with the countries that have indicated their interest in doing it and in the process of finalising the agreements with the Islamic Development Bank. We hope to launch it in early 2025,” he explained.
“We will have a governing body in which all of the contributors will participate. The funds will be administered through the Islamic Development Bank for support of the primary health care system in Afghanistan,” continued the official.
Elias noted that currently he chairs the board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and has been working with Qatar on some of the regional initiatives to help finalise the job of polio eradication.
“We have seen the wild polio virus in the two endemic countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Under the auspices of the World Health Organisation, the regional subcommittee on polio eradication is co-chaired by Qatar and UAE.
“The ministers of health of the Middle East region have actually been very helpful in encouraging both Pakistan and Afghanistan to do what is necessary for the final elimination of polio virus. So again, Qatar has been very helpful in this regard.”
Polio is still present in Afghanistan, with the wild poliovirus endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In 2024, Afghanistan reported 23 cases. In 2022, Afghanistan reported two cases, and five during 2023.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has announced that it will continue providing its essential health services to the people of Afghanistan.
In a post on X, the organization, referring to Afghanistan’s health needs, said that over the past year it has been active in various health sectors across the country, ranging from maternal and child care to emergency response, as well as the treatment of patients suffering from tuberculosis and severe injuries.
According to MSF, its teams over the past year have been present at a range of health facilities, including neonatal intensive care units, operating theatres, surgical centers, and specialized tuberculosis treatment wards, where they have delivered life-saving services to patients.
The organization stressed that it will continue ensuring the provision of health services, particularly for needy families and vulnerable communities in remote areas of Afghanistan.
The Embassy of Afghanistan in Japan, currently run by diplomats of the previous government, has announced that it will suspend its operations in Tokyo after the end of January 2026.
In a statement issued on Friday, the embassy said the decision was made after consultations with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close coordination with Japanese authorities, and in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The embassy added that after January 31, all of its political, economic, cultural, and consular activities will be halted until further notice.
Currently, Shaida Abdali is serving as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Japan.
Sadin Ayyıldız, Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul, held a courtesy meeting with Zakir Jalali, the Second Political Deputy of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of the start of his mission.
The Turkish Embassy in Kabul said in a post that the meeting included mutual exchanges of views on bilateral relations.
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