London: If US funding cuts could equal hundreds of millions of dollars over several years, the elimination of poliovirus as a global health threat has been said by the Senior World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO works to combat polio in collaboration with groups such as Unicef and The Gates Foundation. The withdrawal from global health groups in the United States has affected efforts, including halting work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last week, UNICEF’s polio grants ended as the State Department cut 90% of USAID grants around the world and coordinated President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy and aid.
Hamid Jafari, director of the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Polio Eradication Program, said he has lost a total of $133 million from the US.
The region includes two countries with wild-form polio: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“If funding is sustained, it could delay eradication, which could lead to more children being paralyzed,” he said, adding that the longer it takes to end polio, the more expensive it will be.
He said the partners cited ways to deal with funding shortages, which primarily affects personnel and surveillance, but hoped that the US would return to fundraising the fight against polio.
“We’re looking at other sources of funding […] To maintain both priority staff and priority activities,” he said.
He said vaccination campaigns in both Afghanistan and Pakistan will be protected.
As UNICEF did not respond to requests for comment, a Gates Foundation spokesman repeatedly said it could not fill the gap left by the US. Saudi Arabia gave $500 million to eradicate polio last week.
The partnership already faces a $2.4 billion shortfall through 2029, as it acknowledged that it would take longer and cost more last year.