POLIO ERADICATION

On New Year's Day 1986, Rotary publicly announced to a global audience that it had embarked on the most ambitious

humanitarian program in the service organisation's 80 year history: the immunisation of all the world's children against polio.

An initial fundraising goal of US $120 million was set for vaccine purchase to be backed by a Rotary volunteer army

 of one million community leaders.  By May 1988 Rotarians had raised over US $219 million for the polio campaign.

Rotary's partners in the campaign are:  The World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the Centres of Disease Control

 in America.

It was decided that twice yearly mass immunisation programs in all polio endemic countries would be the strategy used.

To support this strategy, Rotarians in polio endemic countries mobilise volunteer support for the mass immunisation drives.

Since 1985 the number of polio endemic countries has dropped from 125 to just 4: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and

Nigeria.  In 1985, 1,000 children per day contacted polio.  In 2007 fewer than 1400 were reported for the year.

As a result of the efforts of Rotary International and its partners more than two billion children have received oral polio

vaccine since 1985.  Five million children, mostly in developing countries, are walking today because they have been

immunised and a million plus deaths have been averted.

For more information go to the following links:

• End Polio news - http://www.rotary.org/EndPolio
• Rotary International - http://rotary.org