KSRelief Forms USD 620 Million Partnership With Bill and Melinda Gates

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Saudi Arabian government announced a new partnership during the ongoing World Economic Forum in Riyadh to eradicate polio and lift millions out of poverty. The total amount pledged through this partnership exceeds USD 620 million.

Through their partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Saudi Arabia has pledged USD 500 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), an initiative that provides essential health services to hundreds of millions of children every year. GPEI is a public-private partnership led by six partners. This pledge is the largest contribution Saudi Arabia has ever made toward combating polio, and will be disbursed over a span of five years. It will be used to provide vaccines and deliver health services to underserved populations.

In addition to this funding package, this new partnership will also support the Polio Legacy Challenge, an initiative run by ministries around the world to further polio eradication efforts. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged USD 3 million to this cause, and the Saudi government has pledged USD 15 million.

This partnership is also working to eradicate poverty. The Lives and Livelihoods Fund, the largest multilateral development initiative in the Middle East, will receive USD 100 million from Saudi Arabia as a result of this collaboration. This initiative assists those who are most vulnerable to poverty across the MENA region through investments in health care, agriculture, infrastructure, and more.

To ensure the proper implementation of these funds, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is establishing an office in Riyadh. The foundation will partner with the MiSK Foundation to support youth engagement, and will also improve sanitation and health interventions aimed at making the Hajj safer. Among these interventions is a vaccine program that will assist pilgrims with accessing low-cost vaccines.

As a final funding initiative, Saudi Arabia and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are each pledging USD 4 million to humanitarian efforts in Gaza. This funding will be delivered through UNICEF.