Gift of US $1 Million to PolioPlus

 
The board of directors of the Rotary Foundation Canada announced a donation of US $1,000,000 to the PolioPlus campaign on June 24.
“Remarkably there have been only two cases of wild polio reported in 2021.”
 
“We have the wild poliovirus pinned down in the smallest geographic area in history. There are just two countries that continue to report cases of the wild virus,” said Dean Rohrs, chair of The Rotary Foundation Canada and Trustee of The Rotary Foundation.
“As we work with our partners to apply innovative new strategies to reach more children, and embrace lessons learned, I’m optimistic that the end of polio is within our grasp, but we must remain vigilant in rallying global political and financial support as we push towards a polio-free world.”
 
Barriers to eradication — like weak health systems, insecurity, and mobile and remote populations — must be overcome.
 
Rohrs stated that this donation is because of the generosity of Canadian Rotarians. She further stated, “The Rotary Foundation Canada has had good returns on investments and favorable exchange rates. This has permitted this donation of funds from our unallocated investment earnings to support polio eradication.”
 
If a single child has polio, all children are at risk, which underscores the need for continued funding and commitment to eradication.
Rotary has committed to raising $50 million a year to be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, amounting to $150 million for polio eradication annually.