Al Ansari Exchange donates 1 million Dollars to help build a polio-free world
27 Nov 2019
Al Ansari Exchange has donated USD 1 million to the ongoing global polio eradication efforts in partnership with UNICEF, during the recently concluded Reaching the Last Mile (RLM) Forum in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy General of the UAE armed forces.
Mohammed A. Al Ansari, Chairman and Managing Director of Al Ansari Exchange, said: “At Al Ansari Exchange, we are one with RLM and other global organizations to help accelerate the eradication of preventable and infectious diseases, including polio. Our USD 1-million donation will go to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in support of its goal of establishing a world where no child will have to live in fear of polio again.”
In 2012, Al Ansari Exchange and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed USD 10 Million to support polio eradication activities and the prevention of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
As per RLM, polio, along with Guinea worm disease, is set to become the next human disease in history to be eradicated after smallpox. According to an online news report, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Polio Endgame Strategy 2019-2023 needs USD 3.27 billion to protect 450 million children from polio every year and address logistical challenges of delivering vaccines to rural areas and educating families on how to prevent the spreading of this crippling and life-threatening infectious disease.
