The UAE provided Dh711 million (US$194 million) to support global efforts to eradicate polio in the past five years, according to a new report released yesterday by the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development (Micad).

These include a commitment of Dh440 million (US$120 million) announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at the Global Vaccine Summit held in Abu Dhabi in April 2013, to back the polio campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to Micad's report, released to coincide with the Heroes of Polio Eradication (HOPE) Awards ceremony, which was held in Abu Dhabi.

The report notes that in 2011, His Highness the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Gates Foundation made a joint pledge of US$100 million (Dh367 million) to enable the purchase and delivery of vaccines to children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. One third of these funds were earmarked specifically for polio vaccinations, to be conducted over a period of three years.

In 2013 and 2014, the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan, in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, funds were disbursed to support polio vaccination campaigns in Pakistan.

Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development, and head of UAE Committee for Coordination of Humanitarian Foreign Aid, said thanks to the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE is at the forefront of international humanitarian response to crises and disasters, and is playing a pivotal role in eradicating polio.