ERADICATING POLIO
“THE LAST MILE”
A PLAN FOR THE 2010-2020 DECADE
ROTARY’S #1 PRIORITY
Before EVERYTHING else, Rotary International’s #1 TOP Priority is the Global Eradication of Polio. This was
reaffirmed once again by RI President-Elect, Ray Klinginsmith, at the International Assembly held in January 2010
in San Diego, CA. It is also the #1 priority for the World Health Organization. We have reached the last mile.
99.8% of the world is now polio free and only four countries are polio endemic. It is now up to us . . . up to
Rotary . . . to insure that we will “End Polio NOW”.
The $200 Million Gates Challenge
In the fall of 2007, when fundraising for polio was beginning to dwindle and the momentum was slowing, an
exciting new partner entered the scene: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Foundation gave Rotary
$100 Million for Polio. In return, they asked Rotary to match the amount with another $100 Million. In January
2009, they gave Rotary another $255 Million, asking once again that Rotary match it with an additional $100
Million. As of January 31, 2010, we have raised $110 Million of the $200 Million Gates Challenge.
Need for Funding will Continue
When we complete the $200 Million Gates Challenge, our job will still not be done. We will need to continue
raising funds for polio until it is completely eradicated and certified. This will take time. You will note that this
document is entitled “A Plan for the 2010-2020 Decade”. To raise in the decade ahead of us, we must be
creative and not merely ask our Rotarians to write personal checks or put it in our annual club budgets. We
must go to our communities and we must seek corporate partners. We must plan for the future.
Minimum $2000 per club per year
Rotary International is asking each Rotary Club in the world (no matter what its size) to contribute a minimum of
$2000 per year to polio until we get the job done. In District 5110 that means raising a minimum of $142,000
each year until polio is eradicated. Even in these very difficult economic times, this is not a lot of money for
something that will change the world and save thousands of lives. We recommend that each Rotarian donate
$40 per year to Polio. This equals only 11¢ a day; or $3.30 a month or $9.90 a quarter. This will raise $160,000
annually for Polio Eradication. Members can request that they be billed $10.00 quarterly for polio in order to
achieve this goal.
Polio Contributions are NOT credited to TRF Annual Giving Funds
Contributions to Polio are “restricted” funds and do not count toward our Rotary Foundation Annual Programs
Funds (APF) contributions. However these contributions DO COUNT for Paul Harris Fellow and Major Donor
Recognition. In addition to polio, we must continue to give to TRF / APF just as we have in the past in order to
fund our District Simplified Grants, Matching Grants, Ambassadorial Scholarships and GSE teams.
Creating Awareness and Raising Funds in our Communities
When it comes to polio fundraising it is time to Create Awareness in our communities and in our schools that
Polio still exists and until it is fully eradicated, all children are at risk. Then, we need to Take Action to gain
financial support for polio from the community through club fundraising activities and corporate giving. In this
way, we’ll be able to raise much more than the proposed $160,000 per year in the fight against polio. At the
same time we will be educating our communities about this very important global health initiative. When polio
is finally eradicated, it will have a positive major domino effect on global health in every corner of the earth.
Let’s raise $1 Million or more
For District 5110, our goal is to raise $1 million over the next three years for polio. A million dollars?!? It’s a lot
of money but we can do it. If we start with our members first and they each contribute an average of $40 per
member, we will raise $160,000. Then through community fundraising and the “Pennies for Polio” campaign in
our schools, we can raise an additional $125,000 + per year in addition to contributions from “Polio Partners”.
Doing this we will easily raise $1 million in the next three years. The “Pennies for Polio” program has already
been tested in District 7120 (New York) and was a HUGE success. With only 58 clubs (we have 71), the campaign
ran in all of the schools in the district (K-12) for two weeks in April. During that time, more than $100,000 was
raised! With matching Corporate Sponsorships they raised nearly $500,000! Remember, they only had 58 clubs
(we have 72). Based on this, with planning, organization and dedication we could easily raise $1 Million a year . .
. but let’s start with raising $1Million in three years.
District 5110 has “Tools”
To help you in your fund raising endeavors, District 5110 has a polio committee and additional “tools” to aid
you.
1. First and foremost, we have the newly restored iron lung which can be used to educate your community
about polio and Rotary’s global eradication efforts. The Iron Lung request form is available on the
District web site at http://district5110.org/Committees/PolioEradication. BEFORE you submit your
request, be sure to check the Polio/Iron Lung calendar on the same web page to make sure that it is
available for the dates that you want to use it. We request you reserve it for at least a week at a time
and use the week to create awareness about polio by exhibiting the lung in your public library, doing
presentations in your local schools, and displaying it elsewhere in your community, in addition to using it
for your requested event. Once you have your dates in order, download the request package, complete
it and then submit it to the District 5110 PolioPlus Chair. Do NOT submit it to anyone else. When you
receive the iron lung, it comes with a lot of “extras”, including banners for parades, vests for your
volunteers, a free-standing, pop-up display banner, brochures, handouts, videos, etc.
2. Second, we have a complete Polio Partners Package that you can use to approach companies and
individuals in your community to partner with you AND the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the
polio fight.
3. Third, we have compiled a list of successful fundraisers that will help your club not only reach its Polio
goal, but surpass it by leaps and bounds.
4. Fourth, we have great speakers to get your club members charged up, excited and really, really
motivated. All you have to do is “ask”.’
Set the Goal and then Take Action to Achieve It
To get the job done, the first thing you need to do is complete your Rotary Foundation Club Goal Report Form
for your year as President and set your Polio goal (included in this kit). When you set your Polio goal, we urge
you to put in the $2000 per club minimum that Rotary is asking of you (if your club is under 50 members). If
your club has more than 50 members, use the $40/member figure and set your goal accordingly (the higher the
better). Then, to achieve your goal, using your member contributions together with community fundraisers,
corporate sponsorships and “Pennies for Polio”, you will be able to not only reach your club goal but far surpass
it no matter how big or small your club is. We (your district polio committee) will help you achieve your goal.
Working together we CAN “End Polio Now”.
FINAL THOUGHT: A single individual can make a difference
Bill Gates Sr., co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sums up the work of Rotary in his new book,
“Showing Up for Life”. Gates devotes an entire chapter to Rotary and the daunting challenge it undertook to
eradicate polio worldwide. In it he states:
“More than twenty-five years ago, when most volunteer efforts were aimed at solving problems that
existed down the street, Rotary took on a global fight that nobody believed they could win – the fight to
end polio worldwide. Since then, Rotary has revolutionized our thinking for the possibilities that exist for
ordinary people to significantly change the world.”
In 1985 Rotary made a promise to the children of the world and that promise must be kept. We are Rotarians
and we are those “ordinary people”. You, as an individual leader within a very large and powerful organization
have the capacity to change the world. What will you do? How will you get those you lead to follow you? How
will you change the world and save lives? Now is the time to walk that last mile so we can all see a world that is
finally polio-free. It is time to “END POLIO NOW”.
************************************
UPDATE ON THE LAST FOUR POLIO ENDEMIC COUNTRIES
Nigeria
In 2008 Nigeria had more than 783 cases of polio. In 2009, there were 388 cases of polio. Since January 1, 2010,
there have been only 6 cases. Why the huge reduction? Both Type 1 and Type 3 strains of polio are active in
Nigeria. (Type 2 was fully eradicated worldwide in the 1990’s.) In 2009 a new bivalent polio vaccines (both
types 1 & 3 in a single vaccination) was introduced and administered in Nigeria for the first time. The successful
results were immediate. In addition, in 2009 the Nigerian government to full charge of all immunization
activities and now holds coordinated National Immunization Days (NIDs) throughout the country. With
government oversight, religious and community leaders are now fully involved in the polio program. In 2009 the
incidence of polio in Nigeria dropped by more than 50 percent to 388 cases compared with 783 cases in 2008.
Pakistan
Security problems and political instability are big problems here, as well as the lack of infrastructure. Many
remote areas have been difficult to access until recently. Cell phone technology is now playing a significant role
in the immunization program. Medical teams are texting people in remote villages, notifying them of upcoming
NID’s! In addition, immunization stations have been set up on the border with Afghanistan to reach the
refugees as they flee the fighting. These are proving to be highly successful. The new bivalent vaccine was
introduced into Pakistan in April 2010. There were 89 cases of polio in 2009. As of July 31, 2010, there have
been 36 cases of polio reported.
Afghanistan
War has a way of getting in the way of immunization campaigns. Afghanistan has similar problems to Pakistan,
such as poor infrastructure, but aerial attacks, suicide bombings, and assassinations create huge obstacles for
vaccination teams trying to reach remote villages. However, even the Taliban has a vested interest in protecting
their children against polio, so Days of Tranquility are declared so vaccinators can come in and do their jobs
without having to dodge bullets and bombs. This is working. In addition, with the written approval of the
Taliban, (arranged by the International Red Cross) full-time medical immunization teams are now able to reach
villages in outlying areas that were previously closed to them. Afghanistan had 38 cases of polio in 2009.
Immunizers began using the bivalent vaccine in May of 2010. As of July 31, 2010 there have been 13 cases of
Polio in Afghanistan.
India
Last but not least is India. The challenges of getting rid of polio here are enormous. First of all, it’s a nation of
more than one billion people. In the northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where polio is most prevalent,
some 8,000 babies are born every day. That’s 250,000 babies a month . . . 3 Million children each year and this
is only in one small portion of India. Other obstacles include poor sanitation, disease, and lack of clean drinking
water all of which compromise the immune systems of the children being immunized, thereby weakening the
effect of the vaccine. But this is a nation where both the government and ordinary citizens are determined to
see polio banished forever. Many health experts believe that when polio is wiped out in India, despite its huge
challenges, then it can be conquered everywhere. In 2009 India had 741 cases of polio. The bivalent vaccine
was introduced in December 2009. As of July 31, 2010, there have only been 27 cases of Polio in India