The worldwide elimination of polio has been Rotary’s top priority since 1985 – and, now, it is all but a reality.
Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, have immunised more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries, reducing the incidence of polio by 99.9 percent.
Poliomyelitis (polio) is a paralyzing and potentially-fatal disease. The virus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in just hours. It can strike at any age, but mainly affects children under five. While incurable, polio is completely vaccine-preventable.
For its part, Rotary has contributed over $1.5 billion to the eradication effort, and more than one million Rotarians have donated their time and personal resources to end polio.
Each dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication is matched two-to-one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, up to $35 million a year through to 2018. These funds help to provide much-needed operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment, and educational materials for health workers and parents.
Each year, hundreds of Rotary members continue to work side-by-side with health workers to vaccinate children in polio-affected countries. Rotarians also partner with UNICEF and other agencies to prepare and distribute mass communication tools to reach people in areas isolated by conflict, geography, or poverty. Our members also recruit fellow volunteers, assist with transporting the vaccine, and provide other logistical support.
As our goal of eradication nears, Rotary has a growing roster of public figures and celebrities participating in our “This Close” public awareness campaign, including: Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; actresses Kristen Bell and Archie Panjabi; WWE superstar John Cena; supermodel Isabeli Fontana; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; action movie star Jackie Chan; boxing great Manny Pacquiao; pop star Psy; golf legend Jack Nicklaus; conservationist Jane Goodall; premier violinist Itzhak Perlman; Grammy Award winners A.R. Rahman, Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley; and peace advocate Queen Noor of Jordan.
Today, we’re right on the cusp of making history. After smallpox, Polio is set to become only the second human disease ever to be eliminated from the world.