Polio has resurged in a couple of cases in New Guinea. Which means the role of Rotary with it’s partners through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) will continue.
Rotary International, a global service organization with over 1.4 million members, has emerged as one of the most influential players in the worldwide campaign to eradicate polio — a paralysing and sometimes deadly disease that once affected hundreds of thousands of children each year.
Nearly four decades after it first pledged to tackle polio, Rotary’s work continues to leave a profound mark on global health. In 1985, long before global institutions had fully mobilized around the cause, Rotary launched PolioPlus, the first large-scale private-sector effort to immunize children against the disease. Three years later, Rotary helped to establish the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and later, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since then, the progress has been extraordinary. Global polio cases have dropped by over 99.9 percent, and the virus is now endemic in just two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has resurged in a country next to us: New Guinea.
Rotary’s role goes far beyond launching the initiative. The organisation has contributed more than $2.6 billion toward eradication efforts and raises an additional $50 million each year, a figure matched 2-to-1 by the Gates Foundation. These funds help finance everything from vaccine delivery and cold-chain logistics to disease surveillance and public education campaigns.
Members of the Rotary Club of Mosman, contribute to PolioPlus, by regular donations to the Rotary International funds, and the contribution of so many members around the globe allow Rotary International to be able to establish these worldwide campaigns.
Health experts credit Rotary with helping to lay the foundation for a new era of global cooperation in disease prevention — a legacy that could serve as a blueprint for tackling other global health challenges.
With continued commitment, experts believe polio could soon become only the second human disease ever eradicated, after smallpox. Rotary’s message remains clear and urgent: “End Polio Now.”
As the world stands on the brink of a historic victory, the final push may be the most difficult — but thanks to Rotary, it is also more achievable than ever.