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Polio Eradication

In 1988, polio infected nearly 1,000 children every day. Thanks to Rotary and its partners, the number of polio cases has been slashed by more than 99 percent, preventing five million instances of childhood paralysis and 250,000 deaths. When Rotary began its eradication work, polio infected more than 350,000 children annually. In 2007, fewer than 2,000 cases were reported worldwide. India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with the African nation of Nigeria, are the only countries where polio remains stubbornly endemic.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it was giving $100 million to the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International to finally stamp out this crippling disease, and Rotary, which has already contributed $633 million to the fight, pledged to match the Gates' grant. Most of the money will be used for immunization. Our District has already contributed over $664,000 to meet this matching grant requirement making us the number one district in the world in support of Polio Plus.