Dec 8 (Reuters) – Global leaders pledged $1.9 billion to advance polio eradication on Monday, accelerating efforts to protect 370 million children from polio each year amid significant funding cuts.

The budget of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership that includes the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation, is expected to take a 30% cut in 2026 and has a funding gap of $1.7 billion up to 2029.

The shortfall is largely due to a global pullback from foreign aid, led by the U.S., which is withdrawing from the WHO, although its future funding for polio is not yet final. Other wealthy donor governments like Germany and the UK have also made cuts.

The GPEI partners, in response, plan to focus more on surveillance and vaccination in areas with a high risk of polio

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