PERTH, Australia � Commonwealth government leaders meeting in Australia have agreed to step up efforts to eradicate polio worldwide despite the Afghanistan war setting back vaccination efforts there and in neighboring Pakistan.
Leaders of Britain, Canada, Australia and Nigeria, as well as billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, on Saturday committed tens of millions of dollars in additional funding toward eradication of the disabling disease from the four countries where it remains endemic � India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
All the polio-endemic countries except for Afghanistan are represented at the three-day summit in the western Australian city of Perth. The summit comprises the leaders of 53 countries, most of them former British colonies.
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