| RI and Gates Foundation boost end-polio commitment to US$555 million |
Rotary International announced that its partnership for polio eradication with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has increased its contribution to US$555 million. The announcement was made at the International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA, on 21 January.
The Rotary Foundation received a $255 million Gates Foundation grant in January, for which Rotary will raise $100 million in matching funds. In November 2007, RI received a $100 million Gates Foundation grant, which Rotary committed to match by raising $100 million.
The two challenge grants now total $355 million. Rotary has committed to raising a combined total of $200 million in matching funds by 30 June 2012. This matching effort is called "Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge."
The $255 million grant is one of the largest challenge grants ever given by the Gates Foundation and the largest received by Rotary in its 103-year history. Rotary will spend the grant in direct support of immunization activities carried out by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which is spearheaded by RI and its partners, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. Rotary will distribute the funds through grants to WHO and UNICEF.
"With the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we are on the brink of eradicating one of the most feared crippling, sometimes fatal, diseases in the world," said Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Jonathan Majiyagbe. "This shared commitment of Rotary and the Gates Foundation should encourage governments and nongovernmental organizations to ensure that resources are available to end polio once and for all."
Rotary club and Rotarian participation in Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge is crucial to its success. To date, Rotarians have already raised more than US$60 million toward the original US$100 million Gates challenge grant awarded in November 2007.
In October, The Rotary Foundation Trustees approved special Paul Harris Fellow Recognition for contributions to Rotary's challenge, featuring a certificate with the "End Polio Now" graphic. The recognition is effective from 1 July 2009 through 30 June 2012.
Polio eradication has been Rotary's top priority since 1985, with nearly US$800 million contributed to the effort. Although the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has slashed the number of polio cases by 99 percent, the wild poliovirus still persists in four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
"This partnership of Rotary and the Gates Foundation offers a historic opportunity to rid the world of a disease that robs children of their futures," said RI President Dong Kurn Lee. "It is a significant boost toward making real our dream of a polio-free world." |
