Mohamed bin Zayed receives Bill Gates

General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces received yesterday at Al Etihad Towers Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

During the meeting, Sheikh Mohamed said the UAE, under the wise leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, always seeks to boost its efforts and contributions in easing the suffering of the needy people in different parts of the world by directly supporting and getting engaged in humanitarian initiatives in affected countries.

Sheikh Mohamed discussed with Gates topics and activities of the Global Vaccine Summit, currently taking place in Abu Dhabi. The meeting also touched on the efforts by international organsations, as well as government and non-government organisations, to eradicate polio by 2018.

The two sides stressed the need to rally efforts to define a clear vision for providing assistance to the countries and communities lacking proper healthcare services. They also exchanged views on the ideas and humanitarian initiatives that could address the difficult situations in poor countries.

Bill Gates thanked Sheikh Mohamed for his continuous support to the international campaigns and for his initiatives in helping needy countries and peoples around the world by providing life saving vaccines to the children.

The meeting was attended by Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority and Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Under Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court.

Mohamed bin Zayed attends Global Vaccine Summit reception

Mohammed bin Zayed at the Global Vaccine Summit reception (WAM)

General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed attended last evening a reception hosted at Al Etihad Towers in honour of the dignitaries and heads of delegations attending the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Mohamed welcomed the summit participants and thanked them for attending this humanitarian event. He engaged in talks with the participants about the topics being discussed during the summit and the role the summit could play in saving thousands of children'slives around the world.

He expressed the hope for more efforts and initiatives across public and private sectors to provide vaccines to the needy children. He wished the summit a successful outcome.

Present were Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region, Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Lt.General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, Sheikh Omar bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, Sheikh Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Etihad Airways, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, Sheikhs, diplomats, representatives of international organisations and senior officials.

Also present were Prince Al Waleed bin Talal bin Abdul Al Aziz Al Saud, Chairman of Al Waleed bin Talal Foundation, Tony Blair, Middle East Quartet envoy, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Alhaji Mohammed Sa'ad Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto Region in Nigeria, Dr Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Saeedi, Omani Minister of Health, Dr Margret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Anthony Lake, Unicef Executive Director and a number of international organisations officials.

Mohamed bin Zayed donates $120m to anti-polio drive

General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has pledged a donation of $120m (Dh440m) in support of global efforts to eradicate polio by 2018, with a specific contribution towards Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The pledge comes on the eve of the inaugural Global Vaccine Summit being held in Abu Dhabi in partnership with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates.

The Summit brings together 300 global leaders, health and development experts, vaccinators, philanthropists, and business leaders to endorse the critical role that vaccines and immunization play in giving children a healthy start to life, and will include additional financial pledges to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative's (GPEI) new, comprehensive six-year plan.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed stated: "Saving generations of children from preventable diseases is an humanitarian initiative that can only be achieved through global collaboration. Under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE strives to engage in global partnerships that solve these significant international issues.

"With global polio cases at a record low the world has an historic opportunity to eradicate this debilitating disease within the next six years. Together, the international community can successfully tackle this challenge at this critical moment to create a world without polio for the lasting benefit of future generations," he added.

Sheikh Mohammed further said "Hosting the Summit is a reflection of the UAE's commitment to  continue to serve as a meaningful facilitator of international humanitarian initiatives. "This is the second major donation made by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to support the delivery of lifesaving vaccines to children around the world.

In 2011, Sheikh Mohammed and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a strategic partnership that made a combined donation of $100m to fund the purchase and delivery of vital vaccines to the children of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Through this partnership, $34m has been spent delivering 85 million doses of oral polio vaccine in Afghanistan and Pakistan and an additional $66m has been allocated to the delivery of pentavalent and pneumococcal vaccines in Afghanistan. It is estimated that the partnership will deliver pentavalent vaccines to a total of 3.94 million children and pneumococcal vaccines to up to 3.96 million children.

"Today's announcement is a critical step towards fully funding the world's comprehensive plan to achieve a polio-free world and protect children for all time from this preventable disease.

I'm grateful to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his leadership, friendship and commitment to ensuring all children have access to the life-saving vaccines they need," said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a co-host of the Global Vaccine Summit.

Despite significant progress, millions of children do not receive the vaccines they need. Every 20 seconds a child dies from diseases that can be prevented with existing vaccines.

Polio, once a disease that caused widespread fear because of its crippling effects is now more than 99 percent eradicated.

Now, the world has a unique opportunity to end polio due to tremendous advances in 2012.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were only 223 cases of polio during 2012 - down from 650 cases in 2011 - representing the lowest number of cases in the fewest countries ever and the largest drop in a decade. India has now been polio free for two years while Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have both re-established polio-free status, leaving Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan as the only remaining polio-endemic countries.

The new Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) strategic plan addresses the operational challenges of vaccinating children, including in densely populated urban areas, hard-to-reach areas and in areas of insecurity. The plan includes the use of polio eradication experience and resources to strengthen immunization systems in high-priority countries. It also lays out a process for planning how to transition the GPEI's resources and lessons, particularly in reaching the most marginalized and vulnerable children and communities, so that they continue to be of service to other public health efforts. It is estimated that GPEI's efforts to eradicate polio could deliver total net benefits of US$40-50 billion by 2035 from reduced treatment costs and gains in productivity.

The GPEI, launched in 1988, is spearheaded by national governments, the WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Unicef, and supported bykey partners including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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