In February 2025, leaders gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a major humanitarian forum — and what came out of it could protect hundreds of millions of children from a disease the world has been fighting for decades.
The Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, marking the 10th anniversary of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (known as KSRelief), brought together officials from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and governments worldwide to tackle urgent health crises. One announcement stood out: Saudi Arabia confirmed a half-billion-dollar pledge to wipe out polio forever.
The Kingdom reaffirmed its commitment of $500 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, splitting the funding between two major organizations — $300 million going to WHO and $200 million to UNICEF. That money will support efforts to vaccinate 370 million children every year, reaching kids in places where the virus still circulates, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Gaza, where polio has resurfaced in recent years.
"Polio is a disease that mainly harms young children and can leave them paralyzed for life," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's Director-General, who signed the agreement alongside KSRelief Supervisor-General Abdullah Al Rabeeah and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "These agreements show what countries can accomplish when they work together."
Beyond polio, Saudi Arabia and WHO signed additional agreements to fight other diseases affecting some of the world's most vulnerable people. Yemen, still recovering from years of conflict, will receive $12 million to control malaria and $2.1 million to expand cholera treatment. Another $3.6 million will go toward providing dialysis treatment for Sudanese refugees in Egypt, people caught in the ongoing conflict in Sudan who desperately need medical care.
Taken together, the agreements total more than $517 million in new health funding — one of the largest commitments from a single country during the forum. KSRelief's Abdullah Al Rabeeah called the moment a reflection of Saudi Arabia's "ongoing commitment to global humanitarian efforts."
For children in conflict zones who might otherwise miss life-saving vaccines, this funding could mean a future free from a debilitating disease that the world has already come close to eliminating once before. Polio cases have dropped by more than 99 percent since the 1980s, and health workers say total eradication is possible — if countries keep funding the fight.
The Riyadh forum underscored what global cooperation can achieve, even as humanitarian needs grow worldwide.