Polio Eradication
How Rotary is helping to end this debilitating disease.
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 41 years. At the outset there were over 1,000 polio cases a day in 125 countries, paralysing and killing children. Rotary members worldwide 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.
Thanks to Rotary, in concert with other partners, the number of polio cases across the world has reduced by 99.9 percent since the project to vaccinate children began in the Philippines in 1979 began.
Today, 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.
This year Africa has been declared Polio free by the World Health Organisation. In fact, globally the number of cases is down by 99.9% and nearly 19 million people who would otherwise have been paralysed are walking, and more than 1.5 million people are alive who would otherwise have died.
Purple has been adopted as the campaign colour because this is the colour used to identify children already vaccinated and the crocus has come
to be adopted as the campaign flower.
Since the start of the programme, the Club has played its part. Money has been donated to the Rotary Foundation and crocuses have been planted, which not only makes verges more attractive, but it raises awareness of the global campaign. Indeed, one member travelled to India, as a volunteer, to help administer the vaccine on their National Immunisation Day.
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