Monaco pledges funding to wipe out polio

There were 1,226 reported new cases worldwide in 2021, compared with only 138 in 2018.

Polio is also making a comeback in developed countries. New cases have been detected in New York, London and Israel. And yet the disease seemed to be a thing of the past after the development of a vaccine in the middle of the 20th century.

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In developing countries, vaccination was still ongoing. Monaco took part in a polio fundraising conference with the aim of completely eradicating polio, vaccinating 370 million children per year and continuing to monitor polio in 50 countries in particular.

At the event organised on 18 October by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) during the World Health Summit, Monaco pledged to support the global effort through funding. The announcement was made by Carole Lanteri, Monaco’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the International Organisations.

She also praised the “efforts made by health workers to reach every child, despite sometimes difficult security conditions.”

As a reminder, poliomyelitis is a highly contagious viral disease which, in the most severe cases, can lead to irreversible paralysis. The disease mainly affects children under the age of five.