An announcement at the Rotary International Convention in Lisbon, Portugal earlier this year, set the stage for a bold new chapter in the partnership between Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the campaign for polio eradication.
‘Going forward, the Gates Foundation will match two-to-one, up to US$35 million per year, every dollar Rotary commits to reduce the funding shortfall for polio eradication through 2018,’ said Jeff Raikes, the foundation’s chief executive officer. ‘If fully realized, the value of this new partnership with Rotary is more than $500 million. In this way, your contributions to polio will work twice as hard.’
The joint effort, called End Polio Now – Make History Today, comes during a critical phase for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The estimated cost of the initiative’s 2013-18 Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-18 is $5.5 billion. Funding commitments announced at the Global Vaccine Summit in April, total $4 billion. Unless the $1.5 billion funding gap is met, immunization levels in polio-affected countries will decrease. And if polio is allowed to rebound, within a decade, more than 200,000 children worldwide could be paralyzed every year.
Rotary and the Gates Foundation are determined not to let polio make a comeback.
‘We will combine the strength of Rotary’s network with our resources, and together with the other partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), we will not just end a disease but change the face of public health forever,’ said Raikes.
In 2007, the Gates Foundation gave The Rotary Foundation a $100 million challenge grant for polio eradication, and in 2009, increased it to $355 million. Rotary agreed to raise $200 million in matching funds by 30 June 2012, but Rotarians in fact raised $228.7 million toward the challenge. Indeed the Rotary Club of Douglas has raised over ?30,000 in the last 3 years with the support of the local community, and has worked closely with the Isle of Man Government which has seen the Island’s International Development Committee pledge a further ?90,000 over the next three years to a global campaign to help eradicate polio.
‘Now is the time for us all to take action: Talk to your government leaders, share your polio story with your social networks, and encourage others to join you in supporting this historic effort,‘ Raikes added. ”When Rotarians combine the passion for service along with the power of a global network, you are unstoppable, and the Gates Foundation is proud to partner with you. Let’s make history and End Polio Now.’
Endgame strategy
Bruce Aylward, assistant director-general for Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration at the World Health Organization -- a GPEI partner -- said that the finish line for polio eradication is in sight, but cautioned that ‘it is one thing to see the finish line; it is another to cross it.’
Sharing details of the latest polio eradication strategic plan, he said the plan is historic in finally setting out the endgame, the final steps needed to wipe out polio.
‘We now have the plan to complete the program of PolioPlus,’ Aylward said. ‘And we have the backing of you, Rotarians around the world, to get the job done.’
How can you help?
The Rotary Club of Douglas has worked with local schools and community groups over the last three years to raise awareness of the global fight against polio. If any school principals or community groups would like to hear more about this fight the Rotary Club of Douglas would be more than pleased to arrange to speak with them either individually or in groups.
If you would like to be involved, arrange a guest speaker, or want to know how to make a donation please contact Kevin Kneen at kevinkneen@outlook.com or visit www.douglasrotary.org.
