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PolioPlus

General Secretary’s Report to the R.I. Convention
Los Angeles, June 2008

Eradicating Polio: New Opportunities

With polio remaining endemic in only Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan, Rotarians have redoubled their efforts to eradicate the virus globally. This push received a big boost in November from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which awarded a US$100 million challenge grant to Rotary for polio eradication. There were only two conditions: All the money must be spent during the 2008 calendar year, and Rotary must match the funds by December 2010. Following close on the heels of the Gates Foundation grant was a $3.5 million grant for polio eradication from the Google Foundation, which Rotary will match within a year.

Rotarians have responded enthusiastically to the news of these grants. Already, we’ve received two very large commitments: $2 million from Harshad R. and Naina Mehta, of the Rotary Club of Bombay Metropolitan in Maharashtra, India, and $1 million from Rajashree Birla, an honorary member of the Rotary clubs of Bombay and Mulund. We’ve also received a number of smaller but significant contributions. One that especially impressed me came from Becky Smith Lanier, a former Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar who is not a Rotarian but learned about PolioPlus during her 1986-87 scholarship year in Argentina. Her generous $15,000 gift demonstrates the commitment alumni have to Rotary’s ideals and their desire to help the organization continue its critical work.

When Rotary leaders asked clubs to help meet Rotary’s $100 Million Challenge by holding fundraisers each year for the next three years, clubs and districts responded immediately. District 7190 Rotarians jumped into the frigid waters of Lake George in New York, USA, on New Year’s Day to raise $25,000 in support of the challenge. Shortly after this convention ends, hundreds of golfers will take to the links in Ayrshire, Scotland, hoping to beat the record for the most golfers completing a round of the game on a single course in 24 hours. Proceeds will benefit PolioPlus, so participants are encouraged to raise at least £50 ($100) and solicit sponsorships. If organizers reach their goal of 624 golfers, they will generate more than $50,000 for polio eradication.

The Gates Foundation grant garnered much positive media coverage for Rotary. Its announcement involved a coordinated global outreach strategy that resulted in 197 news articles worldwide. Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Robert S. Scott took part in a telepress briefing with William Gates Sr., cochair of the Gates Foundation, and Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization. About 20 journalists representing media outlets in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America were included on the call. In addition, RI President Wilf Wilkinson made the announcement during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which was covered by 15 news organizations.

All our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are joining us at the convention to discuss our successful public-private partnership and the global legacy of PolioPlus. In addition to Dr. Chan, we’ll be hearing from Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF, and Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also joining us will be Dr. Tadataka Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program.

In addition to funding eradication activities, the grant from the Gates Foundation and the $100 million match from Rotarians should inspire governments as well as other foundations and nongovernmental organizations to join with Rotary and its partners to finally rid the world of polio.

Brief History of PolioPlus

Rotary's involvement in polio eradication began in 1979 with a five-year commitment to provide and help deliver polio vaccine to six million children of the Philippines. It was the first project of the new Health, Hunger, and Humanity (3-H) program. In the next four years, similar five-year commitments were approved for Haiti, Bolivia, Morocco, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia.

In the early 1980s, Rotary began planning for the most ambitious program in its history — to immunize all of world's children against polio. The plan required collaboration with international, national, and local health agencies. With the advice and support of the late Dr. Albert Sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine, Rotary established its PolioPlus program in 1985.  

Rotary's pledge of US$120 million to fund its PolioPlus program was announced in October 1985 at the 40th anniversary of the United Nations. This ambitious commitment electrified the global public health community. Within three years, Rotarians had more than doubled their fundraising goal, donating US$247 million. Rotary’s leadership inspired the World Health Assembly to pass a resolution to eradicate polio, which paved the way for the formation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. When this initiative was launched, wild poliovirus was endemic in more than 125 countries on five continents, paralyzing more than 1000 children every day.

Rotary's role in polio eradication continues to evolve. Initially its role was that of a catalyst, providing money for vaccine and volunteer support to overcome problems associated with distribution. A Rotary Foundation grant funded a core group of polio experts at the World Health Organization (WHO), who have guided the global program. In more recent years, PolioPlus funds have funded transportation and other operational costs associated with vaccine delivery, surveillance efforts (including laboratory needs) to identify areas where the virus circulates, and training for healthcare workers and volunteers involved in the immunization process.

In 1995, Rotary launched a task force to advocate polio eradication to donor governments, resulting in more than $1.5 billion in polio-specific grants from public sector advocacy . In 2000, Rotary teamed up with the United Nations Foundation to carry a financial appeal to the private sector — foundations, corporations, and wealthy individuals. The private sector has contributed more than $100 million to eradication efforts.

To date, Rotary has contributed nearly $700 million to the eradication effort, an amount that will grow to more than $850 million by the time the world is certified polio-free. Polio remains endemic in four countries - Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with 1313 new cases reported worldwide in 2007.  Thousands of Rotarians around the world volunteer during National Immunization Days to immunize children. The PolioPlus and PolioPlus Partners programs help Rotary fund operational costs, such as transportation, vaccine delivery, social mobilization, and training of health workers, and support surveillance activities.

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