Challenges still remain after first Global Vaccine Summit

Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, hails the success of the summit but says challenges cannot be ignored.

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ABU DHABI// The first Global Vaccine Summit held in the emirate will strengthen the final victory against polio, health leaders have said.

"This is truly an exceptional and unprecedented event," said Dr Hamid Jafari, director of polio operations and research for the World Health Organisation.

"This summit is important because it celebrates the power of vaccines and the progress the world has made with immunisations and stopping preventable deaths. But it also identifies what challenges remain."

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, called for a world that closes the gap between health care in the poorest and richest nations. "No family, no nation, no culture should be without good health," he said. "Investment in health takes priority. Every land in society must commit to that priority."

* Jennifer Bell