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Rotary has announced an additional $35 million in
grants to support the global effort to end polio, bringing
the humanitarian service organization’s contribution to
$105 million in 2016.
The announcement follows recent reports of three new
cases of wild poliovirus in Nigeria: two cases in July,
and one in August. The three cases are the first to be
detected in Nigeria since July 2014.
With these cases, funding for polio eradication is
particularly vital as rapid response plans are now in
action in Nigeria and surrounding countries to stop the
outbreak quickly and prevent its spread.
Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative (GPEI) are acting to immunize children in
Nigeria and countries in the Lake Chad Basin (Chad,
northern Cameroon, southern Niger and the Central
African Republic). Nearly one-fourth of the funds Rotary
announced ($8.15 million) will support the emergency
response campaigns in this at-risk region, and last
month Rotary provided $500,000 to immediately assist
with the outbreak response.
While significant strides have been made against the
paralyzing disease, with just 26 cases reported in 2016,
polio remains a threat in hard-to-reach and underserved
areas and conflict zones.
"While we are disappointed with the recent news coming
out of Nigeria, this situation underscores the extreme
importance of widespread immunization campaigns and
strong disease surveillance in all countries of the world
until polio is fully eradicated," said Michael K.
McGovern, chair of Rotary's International PolioPlus
Committee.
"This funding will help ensure that Rotary and our GPEI
partners are doing all that we can to redouble our efforts
and protect the progress in polio-free parts of the world,
as well as stop transmission in Pakistan, Afghanistan,
and now Nigeria."
To sustain this progress, and protect all children from
polio, experts say $1.5 billion is urgently needed.
Without full funding and political commitment, this
paralyzing disease could return to previously polio-free
countries, putting children everywhere at risk.