Congratulations to the Coronado Rotary Club, District 5340’s first 100% PolioPlus Society Club! DG Dianne celebrated the Club’s generosity with President Pat and Club members this week. A PolioPlus Society Club requires all members to commit at least $100 to PolioPlus each year until Polio is eradicated. For information, please visit https://rotary5340.org/sitepage/polio-plus-society.
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 over $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, with seven cases reported this year. However, 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. As you know there has been an uptick in polio cases in war-torn areas of the middle east. We must remain vigilant.
As we begin the last quarter of this Rotary year, let’s push to end Polio. Rotary International has asked each Rotary club to donate $1500 or more to www.EndPolio.org. We appreciate your consideration and thank you for all you do to make the world a better place.