Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.

As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.

 Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.

 Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.

The goal is to eliminate polio in the world. Rotary International believed that because there are over One Million Rotarians spread throughout every country in the world, Rotary could be the boots on the ground to make it happen. Since 1989, millions of dollars have been donated and countless hours given to accomplish that GOAL.  As a result, the number of confirmed cases of polio has been almost eliminated in the world, as shown in the chart below.  We're almost there - Way to go Rotarians!