Ending Polio Now Is So Much More!
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Why do Rotary members continue to raise money to ‘End Polio Now’?
People get safe drinking water from a filtration facility in Karachi, Pakistan. The facilities were installed through a decades-long partnership between Rotary clubs and Coca Cola Pakistan.
Because our fundraising does so much more than eradicating polio.
You may have heard of the program PolioPlus when discussing Rotary and its partners' eradication efforts, but do you know what the ‘Plus’ is? The ‘Plus’ is everything else that is provided as part of the polio eradication campaign.
It could be additional medical treatment and additional vitamins provided to children receiving the polio vaccine at the same time. It could also be soap, bed nets, and access to clean water, to name a few. Additionally, the Plus in PolioPlus helps with the monitoring and control of other diseases spreading in countries and areas around the world.
Recently, while at a learning seminar at Rotary One in Evanston, I learned the real impact of these ‘Plus’ efforts by Rotary and its partners. The ‘Plus’ has provided more than 82 million doses of Vitamin A vaccinations, 64 million doses of Measles vaccinations, 34 million deworming tabs, 7 million doses of Yellow Fever vaccinations, 5 million doses of tetanus toxoid vaccinations, and 4 million insecticide-treated bed nets!
How can you make a difference?
Day one of the Subnational Immunization Days in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, a weeklong campaign to vaccinate children against polio. Rotarians, Rotaractors, health workers, and other volunteers set up and operate more than 1,500 immunization booths in the area.
There are three things Rotary members and their friends can continue to do to help End Polio Now:
Learn – get informed and help make polio a subject of conversation.
Share – spread the word that polio still affects children around the world, and also share the benefits of the PolioPlus program
Donate – you can contribute online annually, through Rotary Direct or by attending fundraisers clubs and districts might host (like our Rotary District 7450 Night with the Phillies) where portions of the event are donated back to End Polio Now.
Rotary International has committed to raising $50 million per year for polio eradication. The Gates Foundation has pledged to match that 2:1, for a total commitment of $150 million each year. But we need to reach our commitment first!
If eradication efforts were stopped today, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children in the next 10 years. That is why it’s crucial that we continue to raise money and work towards a polio-free world.