Some 200,000 children could be paralysed by polio every year unless the UK continues funding global efforts to eradicate the disease, a campaign group has warned.
The UK has historically been one of the biggest contributors to a global effort that has eliminated the disease from much of the world, but the Government's cuts to aid spending mean vital public health programmes are now under threat, the ONE Campaign said on Thursday.
While the number of children left paralysed after getting polio has plummeted since the late 1980s, when the global eradication programme began, the virus continues to sicken people in Pakistan, Afghanistan, parts of Africa and Asia.
Failing to stamp out polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan could result in as many as 200,000 children being paralysed every year within 10 years, the ONE Campaign said.
"The UK has been at the forefront of this fight for decades. Now is not the moment to retreat," said Adrian Lovett, Executive Director for the UK, Middle East and Asia Pacific at the One Campaign, which was co-founded in 2004 by U2 singer Bono.
The warning is based on modelling published in the Lancet that showed that even a wavering commitment to polio eradication could lead to a resurgence of the disease.
It's a scenario that now appears to be playing out.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) - the largest global health campaign in history - is facing a funding crisis as swathes of international donors including the UK slash overseas development budgets.
The WHO-led initiative, which aims to eliminate all forms of polio by 2029, is under threat from a $2.3 billion dollar black hole in its budget for the next four years.
The UK Government has pledged around $1.6 billion to efforts to fight polio since 1988, making it the second largest contributing government after the US.
The One Campaign, a charity focused on ending preventable disease, urged the UK government to commit £50 million per year to the GPEI until 2026.
"Polio is seen by many here in the UK as a '20th century disease' - having been eliminated here long ago. And yet, in 2025 this terrible virus is still paralysing some of the world's most vulnerable children," said Mr Lovett.
"The good news is we know how to prevent it, but it will take the whole international community to deliver on its promise to end polio everywhere," he said.
"Not only is it morally right - but smart, targeted investment like this helps to build a healthier world for us all."
The warning comes as polio cases continue to rise in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and as new outbreaks emerge in conflict zones like Gaza, Sudan and Yemen.
Gaza recorded its first case of polio in 25 years last August, which left a 10-month old boy paralysed.
Humanitarian groups have blamed the re-emergence of the disease in Gaza on disruption to child vaccination programmes and massive damage to water and sanitation systems caused by the war. The case prompted a WHO vaccination campaign.
"Thanks to decades of global vaccination efforts, the number of children paralysed by polio has been reduced by 99 per cent," said Dr. Hamid Jafari, Director of Polio Eradication at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
"But today, children living in some of the most fragile settings on the planet are still being paralysed and the risk of international spread remains high."
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office did not immediately respond to the Telegraph's request for comment.