The big push is on to eradicate polio and Rotarians are busy raising $100 to match a challenge grant from the Gates Foundation. Rotarians have now put in nearly $800 for this effort, which has brought the number of cases per year down from nearly 350,000 in 1985 to less than 2,000 last year. Twenty years ago, polio was endemic in 125 countries, now only four nations remain polio endemic: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. However, these four countries each present unique challenges and the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the US Centers for Disease Control and Rotary International are pulling out all of the stops to get the job done now.
The Gates Foundation has just announced (Bill Gates, Jr., the RI President and Chair of the Foundation Trustees) in a press conference and to the International Assembly (with our own DGE Newell Krogmann in attendance) that they will give another $255 Million to Rotary International to support this effort. In exchange, Rotary International has agreed to raise an additional $100 million in response to this challenge, bringing the total of the current challenge grant to $200 Million from Rotarians and their communities around the world.
There's more including gifts from Great Britain and Germany! Please go to this link below to read the whole story. Lots of work still to be done, but a very strong shot in the arm for the work that means so much to all of us. Questions: email Charlie Cogan, District PolioPlus/Gates Challenge Chair 2008-10. ccogan@carleton.edu
http://www.rotary.org/en/ServiceAndFellowship/Polio/Announcements/Pages/jointletter_polio_ia09_annc21jan09.aspx
Sincerely,
Charlie Cogan
