LOC15:32
12:32 GMT
The Saudi Minister of Health Fahad Al-Jalajel
RIYADH, April 28 (KUNA) -- The Saudi Minister of Health Fahad Al-Jalajel announced, Sunday, the initiative to eradicate polio in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
This came in a statement during a "bridging the healthcare gap" meeting which included Saudi Health Minister Al-Jalajel, Pakistani Prime Minister Mian Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Ghebreyesus, and Co-Chairperson of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates, and President of the Gates Foundation Anita Zaidi, among others who participated in the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Al-Jalajel added that this initiative between King Salman Relief Center and the Gates Foundation aims to annually save over 370 million children suffering from polio, and to eradicate the disease.
Saudi Arabia also pledged USD 620 million over the next five years to the global polio eradication initiative, underscoring the continuous efforts to eradicate the disease while providing the best care to suffering children. (end)
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