ABU DHABI // The UAE is hosting a discussion on polio at a UN General Assembly event on Monday in New York.

The Ministry of International Co-operation and Development will co-host with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and the talks will be chaired by Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs.

It will be delivered on behalf of Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of the International Cooperation and Development, state news agency WAM said.

She said: “The recent announcement by the World Health Organisation that polio has now become a global health emergency is a great tragedy and challenge.

"The UAE is committed to addressing this urgent global health issue, having funded several large polio elimination campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria.

“The goal of this meeting around the UN General Assembly is to help to galvanise additional support for the steps necessary to eradicate the disease completely.”

The UAE is now among the top international donors to foreign aid causes. It is working with the international community on development issues, including by taking a proactive role in helping countries to achieve their national development targets in line with the Millennium Development Goals, and contributing towards the formation of the post-2015 development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Since 2011, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, has pledged more than US$200 million (Dh735m) to vaccinate children in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.

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