ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)

With the number of under-five deaths projected to rise for the first time in a century, hundreds of global leaders gathered in Abu Dhabi on December 8 to share one message: it’s still possible to prevent millions of lives lost, but only if the world acts now — through urgent investment, innovation, and partnership to halt the slide and protect the world’s most vulnerable.

The day’s headline number was a $1.9 billion package of donor commitments to fund the final leg of the polio eradication campaign, announced at the Abu Dhabi Finance Week. The pledging moment, convened by the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity with a $140 million commitment of its own, drew support from across sectors and continents, including $1.2 billion from the Gates Foundation.

“Polio eradication is within reach and today’s generous pledges bring us closer than ever to this goal,” said Dr Shamma Khalifa Al Mazrouei, Acting Director General of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity.

“Both Goalkeepers Abu Dhabi and today’s pledging moment underscore what is possible when countries and donors act together: a world free of polio and a healthier, more resilient future for all.”

“Far too many children are still dying from diseases we know how to prevent,” said Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation.

“The tools exist — vaccines, treatments, and proven delivery strategies — and countries are working hard to get them to those who need them most. The support announced today will strengthen those efforts, protect the most vulnerable children, and help the world stay on course to end polio for good.”

Of the total announced, approximately $1.2 billion will go to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, cutting its 2022-2029 funding gap to $440 million and accelerating efforts to reach 370 million children per year with polio vaccines. The funding is also intended to strengthen health systems in affected countries to shield children from other preventable diseases.

Goalkeepers Abu Dhabi, themed “Imagine the Possible”, picked up that thread in the evening, marking the first time the Gates Foundation’s flagship platform for the Sustainable Development Goals has come to the Middle East and North Africa.

Held in partnership with the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, the event united more than 500 global and regional leaders, from frontline health workers to ministers and philanthropists, in a drive to reverse rising child and maternal mortality and finish the job of eliminating preventable diseases.

During the programme, Bill Gates presented a Goalkeepers Lifetime Achievement Award to Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, in recognition of her decades-long efforts to advance women's education and support maternal and child health around the world.

"It's thanks, in part, to her influence that the UAE has done such extraordinary work to support maternal and child health around the world. With this year's funding challenges putting the lives of so many mothers and children on the line, that work is more important than ever," Gates said.

"Her Highness once noted that the greatness of nations is not measured by their wealth. It is measured by, as she put it, their noble human values, their cohesive social fabric, and the ability of their people to give. That is a powerful reminder for all of us," he added.

His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, accepted the award on Sheikha Fatima's behalf and delivered an address paying tribute to Her Highness' humanitarian legacy.

Why Progress Depends on More Than Funding

Beyond the funding headlines, the night belonged to those on the ground — midwives, doctors, survivors, and advocates — who gave voice to the daily realities and breakthroughs guiding the fight for child survival.

From Pakistan, Neha Mankani, a midwife and Humanitarian Support and Climate Engagement Advisor at the International Confederation of Midwives, described running a one-room clinic for three islands and the surrounding coast, providing the only maternal healthcare for miles. She spoke of climate shocks, such as floods, heatwaves, and environmental stress, that have taken a toll on pregnant women and newborns.

“Every summer, I see so many women come into my clinic with pregnancy loss related to excessive heat. We’re seeing a lot of [instances] where babies were born too early or born sick because of environmental degradation or climate stresses, and they need hospitalisation,” she said.

Eva Nangalo, a fellow midwife from Uganda, spoke of the consequences when health systems are under strain — beds and corridors full, midwives overextended, and the heartbreak of losing mothers when basic resources run short.

“Many people talk about saving the lives of mothers and babies in offices, in rooms, but I always remember, memories come back to me, looking at the last eye contact of a mother who is dying, the last words that they say to you,” she said.
“It’s a pain which will never heal from a midwife.”

Dr Hadiza Galadanci, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from Nigeria, demonstrated how solutions as simple as portable, AI-enabled ultrasound scanners, wearable labour monitors, and CPAP breathing support for newborns, can change outcomes even in the most basic settings.

Ramesh Ferris, polio survivor and global advocate from Canada, described the journey from personal hardship to global action, recalling how a moment of recognition — seeing a child on the streets of India with polio — set him on a path to raise awareness and support.

“I vowed to ensure that the polio virus does not claim new victims,” he said.
“Polio eradication is humanly possible. All we need is you. Your continued support, dedication, and your voice … to make a polio-free world a reality.”

The event closed with a main-stage discussion between Bill Gates and Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, who talked about the long arc of progress and the role of partnerships in keeping it on track. “The final one percent has turned out to be very difficult. We have Afghanistan, Pakistan, and then parts of Africa where it’s spread back even though we did get to zero there … We have to keep vaccinating the kids. The disease goes away when you vaccinate 90% of the kids — the vaccine is incredible,” Gates said.
“It’s a few years more than we hoped for, but now we’ve got the resources to take the time to drive the new approaches and bring it to a final end.”
Al Hashimy reminded the audience how much ground has already been covered since the UAE first joined the push.

“We started with Bill almost 16 years ago and at that time, there were more than just Afghanistan, Pakistan and some pockets in sub-Saharan Africa — we had four countries including Nigeria and India that were also places of contamination,” she said.

Discussing the decision to bring Goalkeepers to Abu Dhabi, Al Hashimy stressed that the platform works best when it sits close to the places where progress is won or lost.

“Goalkeepers is about getting closer to where the conversation is happening not really being monopolised in one hemisphere. Having it in Abu Dhabi is demonstrative of the fact that the centre of gravity is also shifting and changing,” she said.

“It’s moving to places that are also much more open and much more able and agile to encourage those partnerships that we spoke about earlier and to foster the kind of innovation that we’re also going to need.”

Al Hashimy pointed out that the UAE’s long-term commitment rests on conviction, partnership, and a desire to never give up, and said she hoped the world would come together in the next two years to mark eradication as a shared milestone.