Bill Gates, others pledge $630 million to beat polio

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An infusion of more than $630 million spearheaded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is intended to help finish the job of eradicating the crippling disease polio, officials said on Wednesday.

The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rotary International charity joined with the governments of Britain and Germany to commit the money over the next five years to support child immunization.

An international effort has cut polio cases by 99 percent in 10 years -- a drop from more than 350,000 cases in 1998 to about 1,600 in 2008.

The polio virus remains endemic in only Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, but imported cases from these four countries threaten other developing nations.

In a conference call with reporters, Gates declined to set a target date to achieve the goal of polio eradication "because nobody knows what it will take."

"We are in the end game," Gates said. "I'm optimistic that we will be successful. I'm personally very committed."

The Gates Foundation, created by the wealthy U.S. businessman and his wife, pledged $255 million and Rotary International $100 million. Britain will provide about $150 million and Germany about $130 million, the foundation said.

The money will support a global initiative led by the U.N. World Health Organization and other partners.