Global leaders pledge $2.6 billion to eradicate polio

World leaders gathered at this year’s Reaching the Last Mile conference — which is focused on tackling infectious diseases — just pledged $2.6 billion to help fight polio. The group included both public and private entities, as well as charitable organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Countries including Japan, Pakistan, Nigeria, and the U.S. also made financial commitments toward eradicating polio. The fight against polio has seen tremendous progress in recent years: Just last month, health officials announced that the second of the three poliovirus species had been eradicated, leaving only one remaining, type 1. Still, efforts to completely eradicate the disease have stalled in other ways, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where conflict and anti-vaccination sentiment have disrupted efforts to routinely vaccinate children against the disease