$40M approved for polio fight

The federal government is kicking in some big bucks to help get rid of polio once and for all.

Ottawa has released $40 million to go toward funding polio eradication efforts in Pakistan – which, along with Afghanistan, is the only region left in the world to have cases of the disease.

This funding commitment is in addition to the $250 million pledged by the federal government in 2013, with those funds stretching through to 2018.

Last year, Pakistan saw 53 new cases of polio, the most for any country. Afghanistan, meanwhile, saw 19 cases.