Africa Polio Free!
Greetings Fellow Rotarians of District 5400, 
We have great reason to CELEBRATE!
On August 25, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the continent of Africa to be POLIO-FREE! As Rotarians and members of a global, diverse, cooperative group, we CELEBRATE this incredible achievement.
There are 54 nations in all of Africa, and every, single one has met the milestone of being Polio-FREE for three consecutive years. The last country to experience a wild polio virus infection was Nigeria in 2016. This milestone now allows 90% of the global population to live polio-free.
It is extremely HOPEFUL and UPLIFTING to see so many different cultures, countries, individuals, organizations, governments, foundations, and groups all pull together to meet a common goal. It is an excellent and loud demonstration for the successes of perseverance, cooperation, and communication across diverse cultures.
This global, joint, vital effort can be attributed to:
National Leaders
State Officials
Local Government Health Officials
Militaries
Religious Leaders
Local Polio Survivors
Front-Line Health Workers
Foundations
Rotarians and Friends like YOU who volunteer and donate
Over 32 years of joint effort, contributing:
- 20 million field workers administering vaccinations to over 2.5 BILLION children
- $17 Billion raised for this eradication effort over 32 years
Notable Milestones: 1979: USA was declared polio-free
Late 1980s, polio was endemic in 125 countries around the globe, infecting 350,000 children a year with the wild polio virus.
1988: Rotary declared war on polio…setting a goal to eradicate it from the planet with its Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI),now a public / private partnership including national governments with six core partners – the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
1994: The Americas were declared polio-free
1996: Nelson Madela initiates the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign
2002: Europe declared polio-free
2007: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation join the effort
2014: India declared polio-free
2020: Africa declared polio-free
Removing the countries of Africa from the polio-endemic list is fantastic, BUT, we can NOT take our foot off the gas! We have a lot of work to do to remove the last, two remaining countries off the list: Afghanistan and Pakistan. We also need to continue vaccination efforts globally to keep polio at bay.
Rotary’s World-wide 2020-21 Rotary Year Polio Fundraising Goal is $150 Million – Including the Gates Foundation $2 to $1 Match.
Today’s state of the wild polio virus:
Total paralysis cases | Year-to-date 2020 | Total 2019 | Total 2018 | Total 2017 | Total 2016 |
Globally | 102 | 176 | 33 | 22 | 37 |
- in endemic countries: | 102 | 176 | 33 | 22 | 37 |
- in post-endemic countries: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(Terry Ziegler, Endowment/Major Gifts Adviser Rotary Region 26)
Please continue to donate regularly to the Rotary International Polio Plus fund, and / or through your local clubs. For more information or to donate:
Cheers to a polio-free Africa! Be healthy and continue the fight!
Yours in Rotary,
Mary Reiman
Mary Reiman
Boise Metro Rotary, D5400 Polio Plus Foundation Chair