Join the Polio Plus Society Today

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system, causing paralysis and other complications. Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are closer than ever to eradicating this devastating illness, but we can't slow down now!

Rotarians can help by joining the PolioPlus Society, a District 5520 committee working to promote individual giving to PolioPlus. Members of the Society agree to give $100 per year toward polio eradication until polio is wiped out of the world. It’s as simple as that!

Joining the PolioPlus Society is easy!

Together, we can save lives and build a future free of preventable disease. Help Rotarians reach every last child and achieve our vision of a polio-free world.

What is the Rotary PolioPlus Initiative?

In 1985, Rotary launched PolioPlus, the first and largest internationally coordinated private-sector support of a public health initiative, with an initial fundraising target of $120 million. We understood even then that polio is a vaccine-preventable illness, and we committed ourselves to the eradication of this devastating illness.

The “plus” in PolioPlus is more than just a catchy alliteration. It honors the fact that the polio eradication effort also increases immunization rates against ﬁve other diseases prevalent in children: measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus. Rotary's role in this effort helps bring other lifesaving health interventions such as nutrition supplementation to communities in need, linking polio eradication to maternal and child wellness, another Rotary Area of Focus.

New equipment for transporting and storing vaccines has made it easier to combat infectious diseases in developing areas. The enormous network of laboratories and health clinics charged with identifying new polio cases allows for the monitoring of other outbreaks, alerting local professionals to new hazards and containing the spread of infectious disease.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, of which Rotary is a key funder and partner, leads the way in envisioning a post-polio world.

We are closer than ever to ending polio.

Today, more than 130 years since the first cases of polio were reported in the US, the disease remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That doesn't mean our work is done! Polio can re-emerge in communities with low vaccination rates; conflict affecting health infrastructure; and high rates of immune-compromising conditions such as malnutrition. A polio-free world is possible, but we can't stop now!

You can make a difference today.

Learn about Rotary's global efforts to eradicate polio.
Donate to the PolioPlus Fund.
Share the vision of a polio-free world on social media and in your communities.

Together, we can save lives and build a future free of preventable disease.

To become a member, all you need to do is complete the PolioPlus Society commitment form, scan it, and send it to Jimmy Melver, Rotary District 5520 Polio Chair, at jkmelver@yahoo.com.