London — Local Afghan Taliban leaders are hindering global efforts to end polio, but Afghanistan and Pakistan must continue their fight to"get to zero" cases, the philanthropist Bill Gates said on Monday.
Polio is a virus that spreads in areas with poor sanitation. It attacks the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours of infection. Children younger than five years are the most vulnerable, but polio can be prevented with vaccination. The GPEI, which includes the WHO, the Gates Foundation, the United Nations Children's Fund , Rotary International and others, began its push to wipe out polio in 1988, when the disease was endemic in 125 countries and was paralysing almost 1,000 children a day worldwide.
Gates, a billionaire who co-founded of Microsoft, said the global polio programme was making progress in Pakistan and had a good relationship with Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had prioritised the polio fight.