NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly session in New York.
Sharif thanked the Foundation for its donations during Pakistan’s devastating 2025 floods, recalling its contributions in the 2022 disaster. He also welcomed support in areas including nutrition, immunisation, and financial inclusion. Highlighting his government’s reform agenda, Sharif stressed the importance of digitisation and economic revival, while praising the Foundation’s “practical and positive cooperation.”
Polio eradication at a crossroads
So far in 2025, health officials have confirmed 27 cases, following a spike of 74 cases in 2024. The country remains one of only two in the world where the wild poliovirus is still endemic, along with Afghanistan.
In September, the Ministry of Health expanded the vaccination age from five to 15 years in high-risk urban centres including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta.
National immunisation drives last year sought to reach more than 45 million children, backed by a three-phase roadmap supported by international partners.
Sharif reaffirmed that polio eradication is a “top priority” for his government, underscoring the central role of the Gates Foundation in this effort. Gates and Sharif pledged to continue cooperation in health, nutrition, digital transformation, and broader socio-economic development.
