92nd Rotary International Convention June 24-27.

Business Editors/Health Writers

SAN ANTONIO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2001

FUNDS URGENTLY NEEDED TO ERADICATE POLIO BY 2005

Top Rotary Priority Threatened by $400 Million Funding Gap

The global effort to eradicate polio worldwide by 2005 is in critical need of additional funding, announced Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), to over 25,000 Rotary club members at the 92nd annual Rotary International Convention.

A total of US$ 1 billion is required between 2001-2005 to ensure delivery of more than six billion doses of oral polio vaccine to 600 million children around the world. Of this there is a US$ 400 million funding gap, which now poses the greatest threat to the program. Half of those funds are urgently required before the end of 2002.

To help meet this funding challenge, The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International and the United Nations Foundation are collaborating to secure funds from the private sector, philanthropists and foundations. "This money must be found," said Frank Devlyn, President of Rotary International. "We have worked extremely hard to come this far, but our largest hurdle is ahead of us. In the final chapter of this crippling disease, we owe it to future generations to raise this money and finish the job. I call on all potential donors to invest in the eradication of polio."

Polio eradication is extremely close to completion. In the year 2000, there were no more than 3,500 cases of polio reported worldwide, a 99% decrease from the 350,000 annual cases estimated in 1988. The poliovirus now circulates in no more than 20 countries, down from 30 in 1999 and 125 in 1988. These are mainly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. They are: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan.

In spite of this success, the remaining one-percent poses the greatest challenge. Closing the US$400 million funding gap, accessing all children in areas of civil unrest, and maintaining political commitment in the face of a disappearing disease are major obstacles that must still be overcome.

"We are on the verge of achieving an historical milestone in global public health. Polio's eradication will benefit all people, for all time. To succeed, we simply must raise these funds, or the opportunity could elude us," said Dr Brundtland in a press conference.

Generous support thus far has helped bring the Initiative extremely close to achieving the goal of a polio-free world. Between 1985-2000, a total of US$1.5 billion has been donated by national governments (e.g. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom and the United States of America); non-governmental foundations and non-profits (e.g. the United Nations Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation); development banks (e.g. the World Bank); humanitarian organizations (e.g. the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement) and corporate partners (e.g. Aventis Pasteur, De Beers). Volunteers, many of whom are Rotarians, play a central role; ten million have participated in mass immunization campaigns.

In 1985, Rotary International acted as the catalyst for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative by setting the goal to immunize all the world's children against the disease by Rotary's one-hundredth anniversary in 2005. As the largest private-sector contributor and volunteer arm of the Initiative, Rotary's PolioPlus program has contributed US$407 million to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries. These funds are providing much needed polio vaccine, operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment and educational materials for health workers and parents. By 2005, Rotary's financial commitment will reach a half billion US dollars.

Despite the cost of filling a $400 million funding gap of the $1 billion more needed between 2001-2005, it is estimated that the US will quickly "break even" on its investment in polio eradication. The ultimate goal of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is to stop immunization against the disease. Currently, the US spends an estimated $350 million every year on polio immunization, and the EU an estimated $333 million. The savings in human suffering will be immeasurable.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Rotary International was founded in 1905 and is the world's first and one of the largest non-profit, volunteer service organizations. It is comprised of 1.2 million business and professional leaders in over 29,700 clubs in 163 countries. Rotary members initiate community projects that address many of today's most critical issues such as violence, AIDS, hunger, the environment and health care.

Rotary International's 92nd Annual Convention will be attended by over 25,000 members from over 130 countries. Since 1909, members of Rotary have gathered each year to further the efforts of the organization to promote peace and goodwill. Convention updates and events can be viewed online at www.rotary.org.