A senior WHO official warned that the elimination of polio, which represents a global health threat, may be delayed unless the decisions to reduce financing from the United States, which are estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, are divided into several years.
The World Health Organization is cooperating with other parties, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Gates Foundation, to eliminate polio.
Washington’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization affected the efforts to eliminate the disease, which was to stop cooperation with the centers of control and prevention control in the United States.
A dedicated grant to face polio from UNICEF stopped last week after the US State Department reduced 90 percent of grants provided through the US Development Agency around the world as part of the “America First” policy pursued by President Donald Trump.
Hamed Jaafari, director of the polioctomy program in the East Mediterranean region at the World Health Organization, said that the partnership program lost 133 million dollars that the United States was expected to be presented this year.
He added that the partners are looking for ways to deal with a lack of money, which will greatly affect employees and observation efforts, but it hopes that the United States will return to financing polio.
A spokesman for the Gates Foundation said that the lack of funding after the US decision will not be compensated for.