Watch live - Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi

The billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates to tell summit in the capital that polio can be eradicated by 2018 as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi pledged a donation of Dh440 million to support global efforts.

Plans are in place to eradicate Polio by 2018. Simon de Trey-White for The National

ABU DHABI // The billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates will tell a summit in the capital today that polio can be eradicated in five years and more than 20 million lives saved by 2020.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi pledged a donation of Dh440 million to support global efforts to eradicate polio by 2018, ahead of the Global Vaccine Summit tomorrow.

Part of the donation will be used to try to eradicate the preventable disease in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Polio can cause a range of symptoms, including muscle weakness and paralysis.

“Saving generations of children from preventable diseases is a humanitarian initiative that can only be achieved through global collaboration,” said Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

The summit is due to begin at 7.30pm