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RI and Gates Foundation
commit $200 million (£100 million) for intensified push to finish
polio |
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Rotary International has announced a partnership with
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will inject a much needed US$200
million into the global effort to eradicate polio. The Rotary Foundation
received a $100 million Gates Foundation challenge grant, which Rotary will
raise funds to match, dollar for dollar, over three years.
"The extraordinary dedication of Rotary members has
played a critical role in bringing polio to the brink of eradication," says
Bill Gates, cochair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "Eradicating
polio will be one of the most significant public health accomplishments in
history, and we are committed to helping reach that goal." |
The polio eradication grant is one of the largest
challenge grants ever given by the Gates Foundation and the largest grant
received by Rotary in its 102-year history. Since 1985, Rotary has made polio
eradication its top priority and has contributed $633 million (£215
million) to the effort.
The Gates Foundation grant comes at a critical juncture
for the initiative, which urgently needs an infusion of funds to reach the
eradication goal. Although the initiative has slashed the number of polio cases
by 99 percent over the past two decades, the wild poliovirus still persists in
four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Polio cases
represented by that final 1 percent are the most costly to prevent, due to
geographical isolation, poor public infrastructure, armed conflict, cultural
barriers, and other factors.
Most of the initial $100 million (£50 million)
will be spent in support of mass immunization campaigns in polio-affected
countries, poliovirus surveillance activities, and community education and
outreach. The grant will also support an expanded research agenda on ways to
expedite interruption of the transmission of the wild poliovirus. Rotary will
distribute the funds through grants to WHO and UNICEF.
More information «here» |
