Press
Centre
Press Release
Global Polio Eradication Partners applaud
Rotary’s new US $88,557,000 pledge to world’s
largest public health initiative
Partners urge international community to match Rotary’s
commitment to polio eradication
BRISBANE, 3 June 2003 - The Global Polio Eradication
Partners applauded Rotary International for its US $88,557,000
pledge to polio eradication. Rotary International today
announced the results of its year long campaign to raise
funds for a polio-free world at its international convention
in Brisbane, Australia. The news comes 30 days after the
announcement that a critical funding gap threatens the
global polio eradication initiative.
Recognizing that insufficient funding is now the single
biggest threat to polio eradication, Rotararians everywhere
have held fundraising events or personally donated to
the cause. In Tacoma Narrows, Washington, USA, 264 drummers
converged to “Beat the Drums to Beat Polio”
raising more than US$22,000. Throughout the world, 1.2
million members of Rotary have held auctions and charity
raffles, cycled thousands of kilometres and organized
many other activities to raise funds for eradicating polio.
Rotary’s latest fundraising drive is in addition
to over US$500 million already contributed to the cause.
On behalf of the Global Polio Eradication partnership
of WHO, UNICEF and CDC, Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO’s Regional
Director for the Western Pacific Region, today paid special
tribute to Rotary International. Dr Omi, who led the polio
eradication drive in the Western Pacific region praised
Rotary and its 1.2 million members world-wide for their
latest and much needed drive to immunize every child against
polio. Rotary’s partners warned that the funding
gap continues to stand in the way of a polio-free world,
and urged the global community to follow Rotary’s
lead and commit the necessary resources to getting the
job done.
”Reaching every last child, in every corner of
the world takes dollars, commitment and volunteers, “
Dr Omi told an enthusiastic crowd of 16,000 Rotary members
in Brisbane. ”Rotary members have been on the front
lines in their communities, creatively raising money,
raising awareness of polio eradication, and reminding
the world what Rotary is about - ‘service above
self’.”
From UNICEF’s headquarters in New York, Carol Bellamy,
Executive Director of UNICEF, added her congratulations:
”Rotarians really are the heart and soul of the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative,” she said.
”Eighteen years ago they took their vision of a
polio-free world for children to the international community.
Since then they have contributed not just money, but passion,
creativity and genuine hard work on the ground.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also
applauded Rotary’s ceaseless dedication to the eradication
effort. “We are closing in on global polio eradication.
We thank Rotary for its vision in creating the PolioPlus
program in 1985 to vaccinate all the world’s children
against polio by 2005,” said Dr Stephen Cochi ,
Director, Global Immunization Division, CDC. ”Thanks
to contributions from Rotary as well as others, the opportunity
to wipe out polio is within reach.”
The Polio Eradication Initiative, spearheaded by Rotary
and its international partners, has slashed the incidence
of polio by more than 99 per cent. In 1988, more than
350 000 children across the globe were suffering from
polio. In 2002, the world had only 1919 reported cases
in seven countries.
The Chairman of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International,
Mr Glenn Kinross,
said: “The progress and commitment to date reaffirms
the dedication of ordinary citizens throughout the world
to this important cause. Rotary International and its
members across the world have given so much to this initiative,”
he said. “It is critical that the international
community works towards protecting our collective investment
in fighting this disease.”
Further information about the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative:
• The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded
by WHO, Rotary International, CDC and UNICEF. The success
of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is grounded
on the solid private-public partnership which has been
built with Rotary International.
• There are now 209 countries, territories and
areas free of polio. Since 1988, the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative has succeeded in reducing the number of polio
cases from an annual 350 000 in more than 125 countries,
to just 1919 in 2002, in seven countries, representing
a more than 99 per cent reduction in annual polio cases.
The seven remaining polio endemic countries are (from
highest to lowest burden of disease): India, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Niger, and Somalia. It is
the lowest number of polio endemic countries in history.
• Rotary has been a key advocacy partner, raising
the importance of polio eradication with government heads
throughout the world. The largest private sector partner
to the Initiative, this latest fundraising effort pushes
Rotary’s total commitment to polio eradication to
well over US$500 million.
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For further information, please contact :
Melissa Corkum, WHO/Geneva, tel. +41 79 500 6554, corkumm@who.int
Oliver Rosenbauer, WHO/Geneva, tel. +41 22 791 3832, rosenbauero@who.int
Vivian Fiore, Rotary Int’l/Chicago, tel. +1 847
866 3234, fiorev@rotaryintl.org
Steve Stewart, CDC/Atlanta, tel. +1 404 639 8327, znc4@cdc.gov
Claire Hajaj, UNICEF/New York, +1 (212) 326 7566, chajaj@unicef.org
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