In addition to providing financial and volunteer support, Rotary works to urge support from other public and private sector partners. This includes the campaign to End Polio Now, inspired by the extraordinary challenge grants received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
To do this Rotarians have mobilised by the hundreds of thousands and they are working to ensure that children are immunised against this crippling disease and that surveillance is strong despite the poor infrastructure, extreme poverty, and civil strife of many countries. Since the start in 1985 more than two billion children have recieved the oral polio vaccine.
Rptary's US$200 Million Challenge is the Rotary Foundation's response to the two grants totalling US$355 Million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help eradicate polio. This challenge was to be completed by 30 June 2012 but we raised US$ 202.6 million by 17th January, six months early, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave us a further US$50 million. There is still a great need for money to complete the job
Bill Gates visited the Rotary International Convention in New Orleans on 2rd May 2011 and gave the keynote address which can be seen here
Polio Eradication – “You can do it” from Rotary International on Vimeo.
