PolioPlus is the first and largest internationally coordinated effort by a nongovernmental organization in support of a public health campaign. Its goal is the one set by the 160 member countries of the World Health Assembly in 1988 -- the eradication of poliomyelitis by the year 2000. Rotary's partners in the global eradication effort include national ministries of health, the World Health Organization (WHO),UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The effort is also supported by donor governments such as Japan, Canada, Australia and the United States.

Although now within reach, the goal of eradication would not have been dreamed possible when Rotary International began its PolioPlus Program in 1985. At that time, Rotary clubs worldwide embarked on a massive fund-raising drive, the PolioPlus Campaign which ultimately netted more than $246 million to help underwrite the cost of polio vaccine, equipment and technical support. To date, The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International has allocated more than $200 million towards immunization and eradication efforts in 103 countries.

But Rotary's involvement is not just a monetary one. Rotarians have served in numerous capacities at the grass-roots level, providing publicity and promotion, transporation for vaccine and health workers, and many other forms of logistical support. Some examples:

In Bulgaria, Rotarians convinced the gypsy community to participate in National Immunization Days (NID), despite traditional distrust of government programs.

 

Rotarians in Peru often provided the only means of reaching children in areas of guerrilla conflict, taking vaccine to regions where government health workers could not travel.

 

In Nigeria, Rotarians formed a national umbrella organization to coordinate all non-governmental organization support for health, including immunization.

 

In the People's Republic of China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where there are no Rotary clubs, PolioPlus funded vaccines and promotional materials for NIDs. Thai Rotarians created posters for three national campaigns and provided funds to train Laotian health workers.

 

Following a precedent set in Latin America, there are Inter-agency Coordinating Committees (ICCs) for every world region. Most of these coalitions of participating organizations are chaired by Rotarians.

Their purpose is to orchestrate collaborative polio eradication strategies and generate political support and financial resources. Rotary's participation in the ICC for the Western Pacific helped increase Japanese government support and inspired the creation of and funding for the regional disease surveillance system.

 

Haitian Rotarians are maintaining national polio surveillance during their government's restructuring. Rotarians in Ecuador supplemented their government's surveillance system with a reward program promoted by national media.

 

Rotary helps strengthen the global polio laboratory network needed to support the rapid diagnosis of suspected cases of polio. With the help of Rotary Foundation grants, Rotarians in Georgia, U.S.A., Australia and New Zealand equipped laboratories in Ethiopia, Russia, and India.

 

Progress towards the goal of eradication is evidenced by following:

A 1994 announcement by the Pan American Health Organization that polio has been eradicated in the Western Hemisphere;

 

144 nations are now polio-free, up from 85 when PolioPlus began in 1985;

 

UNICEF estimates there are 2 million to 3 million children playing and walking normally today who would have contracted polio were it not for the immunization efforts of the last 10 years.

 

Eradication will require NIDs and global surveillance systems, which include networks of laboratories. Nations must sustain high levels of polio immunization until this ancient crippler of children is eradicated. Although only a feared memory in many parts of the world, polio still strikes an estimated 50,000 children a year.

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