Thanks Rotary - The World

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have released this video (click image left to view) thanking Rotary that for more than 30 years Rotary International has been a leader in the fight to #endpolio and today we're closer than ever to wiping polio off the map. 

Rotary and the Gates Foundation announced, at the 2017 RI Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, 12 June, that they have agreed to extend their financial commitment to polio eradication. RI President John Germ said that Rotary has raised more than $1.7 billion to fight the disease since 1985 and now starting 1 July commits to raising $50m pa for the Global effort to end Polio; the Gates Foundation, in turn, will extend it 2 to 1 matching funds for each of the next 3 years. This produces $150m pa which will add up to $450m to the fight.

Just five cases have been reported this year, the lowest number in history and RI President John Germ says: “Right now, every time a new case is identified, it really could be the last one the world ever sees”. Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said ending polio would be one of the world’s greatest achievements. "Polio is the thing I spend the most time on. Everyday I look at my email to see if we have a new case - I'm very inspired to be part of this. I'm also very humbled."

World Governments also reaffirmed their commitment to ending Polio at the Convention so more than $1.2 billion has been pledged to energise the global fight to end the paralysing disease drastically shrinking the $1.5 billion gap in the funding that the partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative say is needed to reduce polio cases to zero worldwide. The new funding will go toward polio eradication efforts such as disease surveillance, responses to any outbreaks, and the vaccination of more than 400 million children annually.