Bill Gates Revives Polio & Malaria Fight with UAE as Key Partner

On 8 December 2025, Bill Gates returned to centre-stage in global public health, renewing his call for a final push to eliminate polio and malaria worldwide — and once again spotlighting the UAE as a “vital partner” in this mission.

In an exclusive interview with The National, Gates praised the UAE’s longstanding support for global health initiatives, highlighting how their network and resources, combined with the philanthropic reach of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, can help deliver lasting change. He said the partnership marries the “sophistication” of the UAE with the “deep knowledge and urgency” of the Foundation — a powerful combination to end “last-mile” diseases.

As the world braces for new setbacks — including major cuts to foreign aid — Gates’ visit to Abu Dhabi carries urgency. He warned that declining support could reverse decades of progress, but expressed hope that renewed international commitments could reignite global momentum.

Below, we explore what this renewed push means, why the UAE matters, and what challenges lie ahead.

A Global Health Mission — Why This Moment Matters

Polio & Malaria Are Still Threats

Though global efforts since the 1980s have slashed polio cases by over 99%, the disease is not yet eliminated. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) — of which the Gates Foundation remains the largest private donor — continues to flag funding, political commitment and vaccine gaps as major hurdles.

Similarly, malaria remains endemic in many parts of the world. Climate change, weakened health systems, and reduced aid have combined to threaten hard-won gains — potentially risking a resurgence if global efforts let up.

Funding Shortfalls Amid Aid Cuts

2025 has seen significant cuts in overseas development aid. According to the Foundation, global development funding dropped between 9% and 17% compared to 2024. That decline threatens financing for immunization campaigns, bed-net distribution, preventative care — critical tools to fight polio, malaria, and other infectious diseases.

Gates’s renewed call is a reaction to this chilling backdrop. He is lobbying wealthy nations to restore — or at least soften cuts — and is urging the private sector, philanthropies, and emerging donors to step up.

Why the UAE — More Than a Donor, a Strategic Partner

The UAE’s Long-standing Global Health Engagement

The UAE has a credible track record in global health philanthropy. Through the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity (MBZ Foundation), it has partnered with the Gates Foundation for years to eradicate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), support polio immunisation campaigns and fund health-system strengthening initiatives.

At 2023’s Reaching the Last Mile Forum (RLM) — held in Dubai — global donors pledged more than US$ 777 million towards NTD elimination and health-system resilience. That historic commitment underlines the UAE’s ongoing role as a convener and major funder of global public-health initiatives.

Strategic Reach & Global Leverage

Gates noted that the UAE’s strength lies not just in funds, but in its global relationships. “Whether it’s in Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan — the UAE has a lot of key relationships,” he said. This global network — including diplomatic ties, development-aid platforms, and influence across regions — makes the UAE particularly effective in disease-elimination campaigns that need multi-country coordination, rapid response, and political buy-in.

Combining the UAE’s logistical and diplomatic capabilities with the Gates Foundation’s scientific and funding know-how could create a strong engine for sweeping health-change initiatives.

Innovation & AI: A New Front for Health

Gates also pointed to the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. He stressed that the next wave of innovations — from virtual health workers to disease-surveillance systems — must be made available to poorer countries at the same time as rich nations. He suggested the UAE, already investing heavily in AI and digital infrastructure for Africa and beyond, could be pivotal in deploying these tools.

Indeed, the UAE has recently pledged significant resources to what some call “AI for Development,” aiming to use emerging technologies to boost healthcare, agriculture, climate resilience and education — especially in developing countries. When paired with vaccination campaigns and disease-eradication efforts, this approach could reimagine global health aid for the 21st century.

What’s at Stake — Lives, Equity and Global Stability Saving Lives — Especially Children

According to the Gates Foundation, nearly 4.8 million children now die annually before their fifth birthday — a rise after years of decline, reflecting funding gaps and weakened health systems.

Polio and malaria remain among the biggest killers of children in vulnerable regions. If global funding and political will collapse, those losses could escalate dramatically. But if eradication succeeds — aided by strong partners like the UAE — tens of millions of lives could be saved, and child mortality cut sharply.

Preventing Resurgence & Health Fragility

History shows that once immunization levels drop or prevention programmes stall, diseases can bounce back — sometimes violently. The smallpox eradication effort remains the world’s only complete success; polio could be the second. But only sustained, coordinated global effort will ensure the job is finished and stays finished.

Gates warns of a “funding cliff” — uncoordinated aid cuts, economic slowdown, and donor fatigue could unravel decades of progress.

Equity & Global Justice

Diseases like polio and malaria disproportionately affect poor and war-torn countries. Elimination is not just a health goal; it’s a matter of equity and global justice. Gates argues that the rich world — historically most responsible for funding eradication — must not abandon the poorest and most vulnerable countries now.

With the UAE’s involvement and its position bridging Global South and North, there’s an opportunity to reframe global health as a shared responsibility — one rooted not in charity but solidarity, justice, and long-term global stability.

Challenges & What Remains to Be Done

Funding and Donor Commitment Gap

The biggest obstacle remains the funding shortfall. According to Gates, there is still a gap of approximately US$ 1.7 billion to fully fund the final push for polio eradication.

With Western aid budgets shrinking, this gap must be filled — either by new donors, philanthropic entities, or innovative financing models. The UAE’s recent history of health-philanthropy commitments offers hope, but global participation must expand.

Political Will & Geopolitical Instability

Polio remains endemic in a few conflict-affected regions such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, where insecurity, distrust, and weak infrastructure make vaccination drives difficult.

Similarly, malaria-endemic regions often have weak health systems, poor logistics, and climate-related vulnerabilities. Sustained elimination requires long-term political commitment, stable funding, and robust local healthcare infrastructure.

Implementation & Delivery Challenges

Eradicating diseases is not just about vaccines or bed nets — it requires surveillance, community engagement, cold chains, trained health workers, and often overcoming misinformation. Ensuring that new tools — including AI-enabled health technologies — reach remote and vulnerable communities remains a complex, resource-intensive challenge.

Donor Fatigue & Competing Crises

With multiple global crises — climate change, conflict zones, migration, poverty — heads of government and donors may prioritise immediate emergencies over long-term disease eradication. Convincing them to stay invested requires strong leadership, clear communication of impact, and perhaps new funding models that combine aid, investment, and public-private partnerships.

Why the UAE–Gates Partnership Is Especially Timely

UAE’s Strategic Vision & Soft Power

The UAE, through the MBZ Foundation and the Reaching the Last Mile initiative, has shown a long-term commitment to global health causes. Its support for vaccination campaigns, neglected tropical disease elimination, and health-system strengthening gives credibility and resources to the global fight.

By hosting a pledging moment in Abu Dhabi on 8 December 2025 — coinciding with broader global dialogues — the UAE provides a platform where donor countries, philanthropies, international bodies, and governments can converge to commit funding and design strategies.

Innovation-Driven Aid — Merging Tech, Philanthropy, and Healthcare

Gates’ emphasis on AI and modern digital health tech — paired with the UAE’s investment in AI infrastructure — suggests a new model of health aid. Rather than just providing vaccines, the partnership envisions scalable, sustainable health systems: virtual doctors, AI-assisted diagnostics, remote rural health monitoring, data-driven disease surveillance.

This could particularly benefit countries in Africa, South Asia and fragile regions — where infrastructure is weak, but mobile penetration and digital connectivity are high.

What to Watch — Coming Days & Months

8 December Pledging Moment in Abu Dhabi: A global donor event hosted by the MBZ Foundation and Gates Foundation — expected to draw governments, private sector players, philanthropists, and global health organisations together to commit new funds.

Funding announcements / new donor commitments: Whether other wealthy nations, Gulf states or private donors step up could determine whether the “last-mile” push succeeds or stalls.

Deployment of new tools — vaccines, AI systems, digital health infrastructure: Success will depend on not just pledges, but implementation on the ground — from immunization drives to malaria bed-nets, surveillance systems, and health-service access.

Stability and support in endemic countries: Political and logistical cooperation, conflict resolution, local health-system strengthening, and community trust will remain critical.

Conclusion

Bill Gates’s 2025 visit to Abu Dhabi and renewed plea for polio and malaria eradication comes at a precarious moment — just as global funding for health faces cuts, while old diseases continue to threaten gains made over decades. The world stands at a crossroads: either let preventable diseases resurge, or double down with new commitments, innovative tools, and strategic partnerships.

In this landscape, the UAE emerges not just as a donor, but as a broker of change — bridging continents, resources, technology and influence. Its partnership with the Gates Foundation represents a powerful model: combining philanthropy, geopolitical reach, innovation and compassion. If this collaboration delivers, it may mark the beginning of the end for diseases like polio and malaria.

As Gates said, more than once: “It’s not that I care about being remembered — it’s that I care about saving lives.”

If the world rallies together now — with financial commitments, political will, and global solidarity — perhaps one day not far from now, polio and malaria will be diseases of the past.