World Polio Day (October 24) is a time for Rotary members, public health advocates, and all who want a world free from polio to come together, recognize our progress in the fight to end polio, and talk about the actions we need to take in order to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world today as it remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
To sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine, Rotary has committed to raising up to US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts. The Gates Foundation has renewed its pledge through 2029 to match that 2-to-1 for a total yearly contribution of up to US$150 million.
Rotary has contributed more than US$2.9 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio since launching its PolioPlus program in 1985. In 1988, Rotary joined in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year. Today, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent. Polio will be only the second human disease to be eradicated (the other is smallpox).
To support the eradication of polio, the Rotary Club of Shelburne has made a commitment to contribute US$100 per member per year to the campaign until polio is eradicated.
A short video about the campaign to eradicate polio.
To support the campaign to end polio, donate here.
For more information about the campaign to end polio go to www.endpolio.org.
