Impatient Optimists
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
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Sir Liam Donaldson

Sir Liam Donaldson is chair of the Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Posts By Sir Liam Donaldson

A polio-free world is still possible

June 26, 2012 / Sir Liam Donaldson

Ten years after Europe was declared polio-free, the world stands tantalisingly close to eradicating the disease for good. With global cases at their lowest levels since records began - only 650 new cases in 2011 there is an opportunity to stamp out this debilitating and destructive virus.

Yet, the world’s chances of achieving this once unthinkable goal are being jeopardised by a funding gap of $945 million (€757 million) – almost half the amount originally planned for 2012-2013.

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  • "Our desire to bring every good thing to our children is a force for good throughout the world. It’s what propels societies forward." —Melinda Gates

  • The Global Fund has helped to deliver more than 190 million bed nets to protect families from malaria.

  • "The world faces a clear choice. If we invest relatively small amounts, many more poor farmers will be able to feed their families." —Bill Gates, 2012 Annual Letter

  • "When it come to global health, Bill and I are optimists—but we're impatient optimists. Tremendous progress is being made. But there is still so much we're impatient to see done." —Melinda French Gates

  • In Senegal, 80% of households now have a bed net, helping the number of malaria cases there drop 50% in a single year.

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