Press Release

Rotary International welcome government funding for polio

November 14th 2006

Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland welcomes the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Gordon Brown, on the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). The IFFIm will deliver 4 billion dollars over the next ten years to be spent on the immunisation of up to 500 million children in the world’s 70 poorest countries against preventable diseases like polio, measles and diphtheria. It is estimated this will save 5 million lives in the years up to 2015, and a further 5 million afterwards, and lead to the eradication of polio.
The IFFIm uses long-term, binding commitments from donors as collateral against which to borrow money up front from institutional and private investors, which can be spent immediately on mass vaccination programmes. Commitments have so far been made by the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Brazil and South Africa, together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In total the inaugural bond issue launched this month is expected to raise up to 1 billion dollars. The proceeds will go immediately to help the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) to develop new and under-used vaccines, speed up the development of new vaccines in poorer countries and improve health services.
Rotary has been a key partner in the global coalition  to rid the world of polio which also includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rotary is the leading private-sector contributor second only to the United States Government.  Since 1985, when Rotary launched its PolioPlus program, individual Rotary members have collectively raised US0 million and contributed countless volunteer hours to help immunize more than 2 billion children in 122 countries.

“In the effort to eradicate polio, Rotary International has spurred a model private-public partnership. The combined strengths of civil society, the private sector, governments and international agencies, have made enormous progress in what seemed an impossible task," said Dr. LEE Jong-wook, Director General of WHO.

Peter Offer President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, said “In the late 1980s there were 350,000 cases of polio every year in 125 countries. Since the eradication efforts began, the number of cases has been reduced by more than 99 per cent. There are now just four countries where the virus is endemic. But the goal is still  threatened by a major funding shortfall and we are delighted that the UK government is helping to meet the shortfall and urge other world leaders through the IFFIm programme to do likewise.”

“Rotarians continue to be the heart and soul of the polio eradication effort,” said Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF. “In addition to their own record-breaking financial contribution for polio eradication and countless volunteer hours, Rotarians have helped leverage a further US.7 billion from governments for the cause.”
Rotary International is the world's first volunteer service organization with 1.2 million members in 200 countries and geographical areas. To date, over one million Rotary members have volunteered their time and personal resources to help immunize more than two billion children in 122 countries against polio. By the time the world is certified polio-free, Rotary’s contributions to the global polio eradication effort will exceed US0 million.

In addition to raising and contributing funds, Rotary has provided an army of volunteers to promote and assist during national immunization campaigns. Rotary members assist with vaccine delivery, social mobilization, and administration of the oral polio vaccine to children.