Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Money Moves

Host and convener of high-profile polio funding drives

Global donors pledged US$1.9 billion to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative at an Abu Dhabi pledging event on 8 December 2025, temporarily stabilizing a campaign facing a 30% budget cut in 2026 and a multi-year gap. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged US$1.2 billion and Rotary International pledged US$450 million, narrowing the 2022–2029 funding shortfall to roughly US$440 million but leaving a gap. Wild poliovirus transmission has resurged in Afghanistan and Pakistan as vaccine-derived polio sparks outbreaks in under-immunized communities worldwide.

Updated 6 days ago

Force in Play

Coordinating Gulf response with Saudi Arabia; warning of regional escalation

An Iranian drone slipped through UAE air defenses on Monday and ignited a fire at the Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone, the bunkering hub through which much of the Gulf's refined fuel passes. Three foreign workers were injured, an Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) refinery shut down, and the country's Ministry of Education sent every school and university to remote learning through Friday. On Tuesday the air defenses fired again as a second wave of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones came in.

Updated May 5