ABU DHABI // Leaders of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative gathered in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to reveal that they are close to wiping out polio completely.
They discussed the progress and challenges of combating the disease during an independent monitoring board meeting in the capital.
Attendees included representatives of polio-affected countries and leaders from the GPEI partner organisations: the World Health Organisation, Unicef, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary International and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
They commended regional solidarity and UAE’s role in fighting the disease, two years after the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi.
“The UAE has been a key partner providing not only funding, but on-the-ground support as well,” said Dr Hamid Jafari, director of polio operations and research at WHO.
“In Pakistan, the UAE is helping to reach children in some of the toughest areas that were previously inaccessible to vaccinators, and is working with community leaders to improve confidence in the vaccination programme.
“Thanks to continued commitment from international partners and donors like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Islamic Development Bank, and partners on the ground, we have never been closer to wiping polio off the face of the Earth.
“In the past few months, Africa has seen strong progress. With no wild poliovirus cases reported since August 2014, the continent is on the cusp of becoming polio-free.
Nigeria, one of the three remaining countries that have never stopped transmission of the virus, has not seen a case of wild poliovirus since July 2014,” Dr Jafari said.
He also highlighted the importance of learning from the Middle East polio scare two years ago.
“In the Middle East, an outbreak that began in 2013 and threatened to destabilise the global eradication effort now appears to have been stopped. In one of the most difficult humanitarian responses yet conducted, vaccinators managed to repeatedly reach more than 20 million children across seven countries and stop the virus.
“Organisations on the ground continue to strengthen vaccination services for vulnerable populations to ensure that children remain protected from polio.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries to have recorded polio cases so far this year.
Currently, Pakistan remains the single largest risk to the eradication effort. In 2014, more than 85 per cent of global cases were reported in Pakistan and the majority of Afghanistan’s cases were tied to Pakistan.
“Both countries must succeed together to achieve sustained cessation of polio.
“Governments of polio-affected countries must redouble their efforts to reach children, especially in insecure areas, with the polio vaccine and the international community must follow through on its financial and political commitments. We have an opportunity to end polio once and for all and ensure future generations can live without the threat of this devastating disease” Dr Jafari concluded.
The 2013 Global Vaccine Summit was held in partnership with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Donors at the Summit, including the UAE, pledged Dh14.7 billion towards ridding the world of polio, a crippling disease that mostly strikes children.
The event came as the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (Haad) marked the completion of its National Polio Campaign, held between November 2014 and January.
According to Haad, 254,082 children were vaccinated during the campaign with 121,890 in round one and 132,192 in round two.
Implemented with the support of 86 entities In Abu Dhabi, the campaign aimed to recognise the contribution of institutions and individuals in the National Polio Immunisation Campaign.
Dr Farida Al Hosani, acting director of public health and research at Haad, stressed the importance of vaccines as the most effective tool for preventing infectious diseases
“Without vaccines, diseases such as polio cannot be averted around the world,” Dr Al Hosani said.
The UAE was declared a polio-free country in 1993.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
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