Islamic Development Bank President Joins World Leaders in Urgent Call for a Polio-Free World

At high-level event led by UN Secretary-General, President Ali commits to support polio eradication in IDB member states

29 SEPTEMBER 2012 – Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), joined world leaders today at the United Nations Headquarters in New York as they called for global solidarity to win the fight against polio. The IDB announced it is developing a US$227 million financing package for the government of Pakistan that will fully fund Pakistan’s polio eradication activities through 2015. The IDB is also considering providing a grant to Afghanistan’s polio program.
Pakistan and Afghanistan, alongside Nigeria, are the only remaining polio-endemic countries, and all are IDB members.

The IDB’s financing of US$227 million for Pakistan will be presented for approval to the bank’s Board of Executive Directors before the end of the year.

"We are developing a new mode of financing with the Gates Foundation that will become a landmark in our commitment to fight global diseases such as polio,” said Dr. Ali at the UN event. “It is a major innovation, and a new model of partnership with non-traditional donors."

Under the proposed arrangement, Pakistan will repay the principal amount to the bank while the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide support for the administrative costs associated with the financing package. The novel partnership between the IDB and the Gates Foundation will allow the organizations’ collective resources to go much further.

The world is more than 99 percent of the way toward eradicating polio, and today there are the fewest number of cases in the fewest districts in the fewest countries than ever before. Globally, this year there have been 145 new polio cases reported through 18 September, 2012, compared to 400 cases at this time last year. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has implemented an emergency action plan approved by the May 2012 World Health Assembly, and affected countries are working more
effectively against the disease.

“Global institutions have a special responsibility to join together and support this effort until the fight against polio is won,” continued Dr. Ali. “The bank will do its part. All development partners should seize this opportunity for a polio-free world.”

The IDB’s commitment to polio aligns with its broader leadership in developing innovative modes of Islamic finance. The bank’s Islamic operating model and its strong international reputation allow it to mobilize resources from investors and non-traditional donors looking for ways to support global development that are also compliant with Islamic financing principles. The bank uses these resources to address major global challenges such as health, illiteracy, hunger and poverty. The polio
financing for Pakistan, for example, provides a new model of partnership that enables multilateral financing and philanthropic resources to be pooled more quickly and effectively than ever before, while reducing costs for countries that commit to tackle global diseases. The IDB is exploring similar mechanisms of innovative finance for areas beyond polio and health, such as agricultural development, in partnership with member countries, other multilateral banks, and additional partners.

The high-level event at the United Nations featured heads of state from each of the three remaining polio-endemic countries, as well as major donors and partners. Dr. Ali of the IDB was joined in his remarks by, among others:

• Senator Timothy E. Wirth, President, United Nations Foundation
• His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General
• Mr. Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Her Excellency Julia Gillard, Prime Minister, Australia
• His Excellency President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria
• His Excellency President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan
• Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
• His Excellency President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan
• His Excellency, Alan Duncan, Minister of State, International Development, United Kingdom
• His Excellency Julian Fantino, Minister, International Cooperation, Canada
• Mr. Sandro Rosell I Feliu, President, FC Barcelona and FC Barcelona Foundation
• His Excellency Koichiro Gemba, Minister, Foreign Affairs, Japan
• Mr. Wilfrid J. Wilkinson Chair, Rotary Foundation Trustees
• Ms. Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s Goodwill Ambassador on Polio Eradication
• The Honorable Tony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF
• Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization

The evening before this event, the IDB hosted a dinner for Middle East personalities to discuss the Bank's broader commitment to health and development, including innovative new financing mechanisms for fighting global diseases and addressing food insecurity.