Worldwide polio cases have dropped from 350,000 in 122 countries in 1988 to just 33 in two countries in 2018 – Pakistan and Afghanistan. Now the world stands on the threshold of eradicating the disease forever. Nigeria, the last polio endemic country in Africa, has passed the 3-year milestone without a case, and it is anticipated that the whole African Region will be declared polio free in 2020.
To date, Rotary has contributed more than US$1.9 billion and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than 2.5 billion children around the world. Around the world, on October 24, 2019, Rotary International, foundations, governments and global health organizations are marking World Polio Day. To salute World Polio Day, Rotary Club of Ladner is holding “Pumpkins for Polio” sales events on Tuesday, October 22, with proceeds going entirely to the End Polio campaign: 10 am to 1 pm at Ladner Leisure Centre and 3:30 to 5:30 pm, including a pumpkin carving contest, at Delta Secondary School.
In 1985, Rotary launched the PolioPlus campaign and then spearheaded the formation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which is a partnership of national governments, Rotary International, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Our goal is to eradicate polio worldwide.
Rotary has also played a major role in decisions by donor governments to contribute more than US$8 billion to the polio eradication effort. Canada has strongly supported our effort and has been a valuable ally with total contributions to date of roughly US$640 million to help eradicate polio.
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Thanks to the Rotary-initiated global campaign, an estimated 2.5 billion children have been saved from the lifetime, crippling disease of polio | Rotary volunteers work with health workers in many countries to vaccinate children against polio | A huge effort continues not only to prevent children contracting polio, but to continue fighting to make sure it does come back |
To sustain this progress, and protect all children from polio, Rotary has committed to raising US$50 million more per year in support of global polio eradication efforts. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match Rotary’s commitment with a further US$100 million per year.
World Polio Day is celebrated around the globe on October 24th. Rotary International established this day of recognition and date over a decade ago to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who in 1955 led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. The day is an opportunity for the global polio eradication community to reflect on the progress made and to renew its promise of a polio-free world for future generations.
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Ladner Rotary members will be selling pumpkins on October 22 to raise funds for the fight to end polio in the world | At the Delta Secondary School location for pumpkin sales on October 22, a pumpkin carving contest will be included |
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