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23/10/2023

Endemic countries, Financing and donors, GPEI partners

Don’t Stop Now: Stories from the Final Push to End Polio

23 October 2023

Last month, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with The Moth to host an exceptional storytelling event, Don’t Stop Now: Stories from the Final Push to End Polio. Held in New York City during the UN General Assembly, the event was an inspiring night of powerful personal stories from individuals whose lives have been impacted by polio.

The event was hosted by Dr. Richard Besser, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and opening remarks were provided by Chris Elias, President of the Global Development Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Storytellers included Safia Ibrahim (Public Engagement Manager at Results Canada and polio survivor), Wasif Mahmood (Head of Communications at UNICEF Pakistan), and Oyewale Tomori (past President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, past Virologist at WHO AFRFO), who all told powerful stories about their lived polio experiences, inspiring the audience to keep up the fight to end this devastating disease. Special guest EXILE TETSUYA (Japanese artist and polio advocate) also provide remarks on his own polio eradication advocacy efforts.