23 September 2024 – The Government of Canada continues to demonstrate its commitment and leadership in the fight to eradicate polio, announcing a new contribution of CAN $151 million over the next three years to support the work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Canada’s Minister of International Development, the Hon. Ahmed Hussen, formally announced Canada’s next pledge to the GPEI at a Rotary regional conference in Toronto, Ontario on 20 September to an audience of Rotary club members and civic leaders from across Canada and the United States.

Canada has been a leading supporter of the global polio eradication effort since its inception and across successive governments, helping the GPEI reduce cases globally by over 99% and prevent more than 20 million cases of paralysis from polio. This most recent funding, which brings Canada’s total contributions to the GPEI to more than CAN $1 billion, will support the GPEI’s ongoing efforts in immunizing 370 million children annually. Canada’s overall contribution has also helped build and will ensure the continuation of increasingly important health infrastructure in some of the most vulnerable regions of the world. In addition to vaccinating children against polio, this infrastructure also delivers other essential health services, including critical surveillance and tracking systems.

“Building on Canada’s leadership in global health, today’s investment will strengthen our partnership with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. By protecting children who are most at risk from this preventable disease and providing support for health workers at the forefront of this effort, we will be one step closer to eradicating polio,” said Ahmed Hussen PC MP, Minister of International Development for the Government of Canada.

“Rotary members in Canada and throughout the world are thrilled to welcome this new investment to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative,” said Jennifer Jones, a Canadian citizen who served as the President of Rotary International in 2022-23. “As a founding member of the GPEI, ending polio has been Rotary’s top priority since the very beginning, and the Canadian government has been with us every step of the way. With the finish line so close, every contribution to the global effort is a critical step towards a world without polio for children everywhere.”

Today, polio continues to spread in some of the most challenging places in the world to deliver health services, like Gaza, where variant poliovirus recently paralyzed a child for the first time in 25 years. The final two countries where the wild poliovirus remains endemic are Afghanistan and Pakistan. The GPEI is continuing to adapt its approach to reach every child with polio vaccines and other essential health services in these and other affected countries that are challenged by setbacks in routine immunization, security threats and climate catastrophes.

“We welcome this generous contribution from the Government of Canada towards our efforts to deliver a polio-free future,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “These funds will help the GPEI reach communities with polio vaccines, including in some of the most marginalized populations of the world, and bring us closer to our goal of eradicating this disease once and for all.”

“Canada’s support to GPEI is instrumental in protecting the lives of millions of children around the world against polio,” said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF. “With the continuing commitment of our donors, and all partners in the polio program, we can deliver a world where no child has to live in fear of this disease.”

Ramesh Ferris, a polio survivor, Rotary member, Global Citizen, endurance athlete, and international immunization advocate, thanked Minister Hussen with a show of appreciation from Team End Polio—a world-class roster of athletes, global leaders, and polio eradication supporters united for a polio-free future.  “As a Canadian, I am thrilled to welcome Minister Hussen as a key supporter of Team End Polio,” Ferris said. “Teamwork makes the dream work. By continuing to work together on the same team to end polio, our global community will see the dream of a polio-free world become a reality.”

Later this week, the GPEI will recognize this contribution from Canada during a dialogue on equitable immunization on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly, in front of an audience of GPEI partners, donors, and other leading voices in global health.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Rotary International: Jennifer Jones, +1 (519) 818-2255; JenniferJones@Rotary.org

Global Polio Eradication Initiative: Jacob Baskes, jbaskes@globalhealhstrategies.com

Global Affairs Canada: media@international.gc.ca