Time to start planning how you are going to support this effort.
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.
Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.
Today, we have four Wild Polio Virus cases this calendar year and twelve last year – equal numbers in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year. Rotary International has made strides in Polio Eradication through teaching the importance of protecting children through lifesaving vaccines. Learn more here.
Help Rotary raise awareness for polio eradication and the importance of vaccines during World Immunization Week, 24-30 April. Find a variety of resources to help spread the word at the End Polio Now Resource Center.