pr
On World Polio Day, Rotary International reaffirms its decades-long support for Pakistan’s efforts to stop the spread of the wild poliovirus in the country – one of two worldwide where the virus remains endemic, along with Afghanistan.
Established by Rotary to honor Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine more than 70 years ago, World Polio Day is an opportunity to celebrate progress and renew commitment toward ending the disease every October 24th.
Rotary, the first organization to envision a polio-free world, helped found the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988, when polio affected 350,000 children each year in 125 countries. Today, thanks to Rotary and its GPEI partners, polio cases have fallen by more than 99.9 percent, sparing more than 20 million people from paralysis.
“We have contributed more than US$3 billion-including US$1.3 million from Rotary members in Pakistan–and invested more than half a billion of these funds and countless volunteer hours to protect over 45 million children in Pakistan from this paralyzing disease,” said Rotary International President Olayinka Hakeem Babalola who helped lead eradication efforts in Nigeria on Africa’s road to wild poliovirus-free certification in 2020. “Africa’s achievement demonstrates that with collaboration and political and financial support, ending polio in Pakistan and eradicating it globally is possible.”
“Pakistan is demonstrating strong progress with only a handful of reported cases this year, and in order to safeguard our credibility and maintain trust, we are continuing to address other community needs,” said Aziz Memon, chair of Rotary’s Pakistan National PolioPlus Committee.