Helping Fight Polio

Learn more about Rotary’s efforts to fight Polio.

A version of this article previously appeared in the O’Fallon Weekly.

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Last month, The Rotary Club of O’Fallon made a $500 donation to The Rotary International PolioPlus Fund. A check was presented to District 6510 Governor, Chris Lyons, who spoke at the club’s weekly meeting at the Katy Cavins Community Center. This donation will be matched 2:1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help obtain the support, transportation and materials needed to help vaccinate children across the world.

“Due to Rotary’s work, nearly three billion children in 122 countries have been protected from this paralyzing disease. Today, polio remains epidemic only in two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep all countries polio-free. If eradication efforts stopped, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year,” according to Rotary International.

Rotary International has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary clubs have contributed to the reduction of polio cases by 99.9% since the first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines began in 1979.

Our local club is proud of the contributions we’ve been able to make toward this effort over the years, including this recent donation. Various fundraising efforts and the generosity of our members help make such contributions possible.