Twenty five years ago, more than 400,000 children were crippled or killed by polio every year. Then Rotary International made a pledge to end polio forever.
In partnership with the Gates Foundation and the World Organization, Rotary reduced the number of polio cases to about 1,200 last year, and complete eradication is in sight. Monterey Pacific Rotary is helping to raise the $200 million Rotary has pledged, and that will be matched by the Gates Foundation to bring the total over half a billion dollars for the final push.
The final effort is focused on the four countries where polio is still endemic: Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. India could be the next country to be declared polio-free. Just one case has been reported so far in 2011, and only three cases have been reported there in the past six months.
For more information, or to contribute to the coming victory over polio, visit www.rotary.org/endpolio.
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