Why do you need to join the Polio Plus Society?
Polio (Poliomyelitis) is a paralyzing infectious killer disease that commonly affects children under the age of 5. It is transmitted through contaminated water.
The End Polio Now Campaign and the eradication of Polio are significant efforts by Rotary. In 1979, Rotary began its fight against Polio with a multi-year project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. In 1988, with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Rotary launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Before this initiative, Polio paralyzed more than 1000 children daily or 350,000 children annually.
Thanks to the efforts of Rotary International and its partners, more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries have been immunized against Polio, reducing polio cases by 99.9 percent worldwide. The disease is only still endemic in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The "plus" in Polio Plus refers to added benefits of the programme, such as improving access to clean water, bed nets, or additional medical treatment.
For one to be a Polio Plus Society Member, US$100 is donated annually to the Polio Plus Fund of The Rotary Foundation until Polio is eradicated or the donor can no longer make donations. These contributions collectively help fund polio vaccination, planning by technical experts, large-scale communication efforts to make people aware of the benefits of vaccination, and support for volunteers who go door to door. It costs an average of $3 to protect a child against Polio fully, and your donation will protect a child from Polio.
As long as Polio still exists anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk.
Join the Polio Plus Society today!