DID Press: World Health Organization (WHO) warned that a $1.7 billion funding shortfall through 2029 poses a serious threat to global efforts to eradicate polio, potentially cutting the budget of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) by as much as 30 percent.
Jamal Ahmed, WHO’s director of the polio eradication program, said the funding gap “means that some critical activities to control the virus will no longer be carried out.”
Officials from GPEI said the shortfall is largely due to declining foreign aid, particularly from the United States, whose support for WHO decreased after Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Other major donor countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, have also reduced their contributions.
Despite the funding challenges, Ahmed emphasized that “polio eradication remains possible and achievable, provided global commitment is maintained and no child misses vaccination.”
According to official figures, 36 cases of wild poliovirus have been reported so far in 2025 in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
WHO officials warn that without sufficient funding, critical immunization campaigns and surveillance efforts could be delayed or canceled, undermining decades of progress toward eliminating the disease globally.