The promise of a polio-free world hinges on the support of donors. Since the GPEI’s launch in 1988, donors have invested over US$ 20 billion through WHO and UNICEF, supporting eradication activities in over 70 countries. These efforts have led to a 99.9% drop in polio cases, enabled over 20 million people to walk who would otherwise have been paralyzed, and strengthened health systems globally.
Today, eradication efforts are concentrated in the most complicated and fragile settings on the planet in which to deliver healthcare. Without continued efforts, thousands of children could again face paralysis or death from polio each year. This is an unacceptable future. Revitalized support from donors and governments is essential to reach every child with vaccines and build stronger health systems.
Together, we can secure a polio-free future for all.
In October 2024, the GPEI’s Polio Oversight Board (POB) announced the difficult but necessary decision to extend the timelines needed to achieve polio eradication to the end of 2027 for wild poliovirus and the end of 2029 for type 2 variant poliovirus.
The POB approved a revised budget of US$6.9 billion budget for the extended 2022-2029 strategic period, an increase from the US$4.8 billion projected for the 2022-2026 strategic period.
Learn more about the Financial Resource Requirements of the program.
The GPEI is supported by financial contributions from a range of stakeholders including governments, philanthropies, private institutions and individuals. As implementing partners of the program, WHO and UNICEF receive and administer a majority of these funds. These contributions are supplemented by in-kind contributions within implementing countries such as the time spent by volunteers, health workers and others to plan and carry out vaccination campaigns and surveillance activities. Non-financial resource requirement (Non-FRR) funding, whether cash or in-kind, also supports innovations and other supplementary activities that create an enabling environment for polio eradication.
As an operational program, most of the funds received by the GPEI go directly to the in-country work that makes eradication possible—conducting disease surveillance, vaccinating 370 million children against polio annually and strengthening country health systems. Any gaps in this funding have direct impacts on these essential activities and leave children unprotected against polio.
The GPEI has adopted a rolling resource mobilization campaign, called the ‘Relay to Zero,’ to maximize funding opportunities and build on programmatic successes. This recognizes the rapidly changing global context along with the need for steady and sustained funding and continuous donor engagement. As of October 2024, the GPEI welcomed pledges and funding against the revised strategic period from Canada, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and the United States. The GPEI will continue its work with the international donor community and polio-affected countries to close the funding gap with much-needed resources throughout 2025 and into 2026. For more donor news, see the carousel above.
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