Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to deepening its partnership with the Gates Foundation, with talks spanning polio eradication, health, financial inclusion and digital development.
The discussions took place in Islamabad on 10 September, with the two sides focusing on digital payments, financial inclusion, health, nutrition and polio eradication.
The Gates Foundation delegation included Kalpana Kochhar and Anita Zaidi. Sharif thanked the foundation for its continued support, highlighting its work on polio eradication, health, nutrition, financial inclusion and support for vulnerable communities.
The meeting came as the Gates Foundation held separate discussions with senior Pakistani officials on a broader development agenda.
In talks with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the foundation outlined its growing engagement in human capital, child health, nutrition, maternal health and women’s economic participation.
The two sides also discussed population growth, poverty and girls’ education. The foundation expressed interest in helping expand access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses by improving access to information, strengthening digital footprints and promoting cash-flow-based lending.
The delegation also met Pakistan’s IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja for talks on artificial intelligence, the digital economy, data systems, health technology, financial inclusion and technology-driven development.
Polio was a central part of Sharif’s talks with the foundation.
Sharif said Pakistan was committed to the “shared goal” of completely eradicating polio and that the National Polio Eradication Programme had support at the highest level.
Pakistan has made significant progress, but the virus continues to circulate. The country has reported three polio cases in 2026, down from 31 in 2025 and 74 in 2024.
Pakistan had an estimated 20,000 cases in the early 1990s, meaning the number of cases has fallen by 99.8 per cent since then.
Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus continues to circulate.The latest figures underscore both the progress made and the challenge still facing Pakistan’s eradication programme.
The latest talks highlight the growing scope of the Gates Foundation’s partnership with Pakistan, extending beyond disease prevention into key areas of the country’s development agenda.
From health and nutrition to digital transformation, financial inclusion and women’s economic participation, the discussions signal an increasingly broad partnership focused on some of Pakistan’s most pressing development priorities.
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