Update on Rotary International's Polio Eradication Drive

The war against Polio continues… but the victory is now in sight ! The crippling disease that held the world to ransom in the 1950's and 1960's has almost been eliminated with those two tiny drops of oral polio vaccine, a well thought out strategy, large financial resources and the dedication and commitment of thousands of devoted volunteers and international health agencies.

Rotary International  is the volunteer arm of a global partnership dedicated to eradicating polio. In 1985, Rotary volunteers around the world embraced the fight against polio and 'POLIOPLUS' was born.

Till date, the PolioPlus programme has contributed US $610 million for the protection of more than two billion children. By 2007 the end of the programme, Rotary's contribution will touch more than US$650 million apart from the manpower, materials and individual support provided by 1.2 million Rotarians world wide.

Polio is a disease caused by a germ that lives in the throat and intestines. It is most often spread through contact with the stool (bowel movement) of an infected person. Polio germs can also be spread through food and water. The disease mainly affects children under 5 years old, but unvaccinated people of any age are at risk.

The following countries, however, have had imported polio cases or cases related to an imported case in the past 24 months: Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burma (Myanmar), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Niger, Somalia, and Sudan. Of these countries, Bangladesh, Benin, Burma (Myanmar), and DRC had previously been polio-free for over 4 years, and Kenya had been polio-free for over 10 years. The following countries are at risk for poliovirus importation because they are located near endemic or recently infected countries: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Togo, and Uganda.