Eradication of POLIO
The Carlos Slim Foundation joined the efforts of the World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the Global Initiative for the Eradication of Polio in the world.
Progress towards eradication:
- Since 1998 the number of cases has decreased by 99%
- Two of the three types of polio virus have already been eradicated.
- Certified polio-free regions
- American Continent (1994)
- Western Pacific (2000)
- European Region (2002)
- Southeast Asia (2014)
- African continent (2020)
- Between 2019 and 2020, the number of cases in the world decreased from 174 to 140. In 2021, only 5 cases were reported, 4 in Afghanistan and one in Pakistan.
Current situation:
- 2 countries with endemic presence of the virus: Afghanistan and Pakistan
- In February 2022, a confirmed case was reported in Malawi, which was the first case detected on the continent since 2016. Subsequently, in March 2022, a case was reported in Israel for the first time in 30 years.
Carlos Slim Foundation Contribution
- 70.2 million doses of vaccines for children in 37 countries in Africa and Asia.