Polio Eradication Initiative
Issue Area: Children’s Health
Polio, which can cause lifelong paralysis, can be prevented with a vaccine that costs only $.60. In the 1980s, polio paralyzed at least 1,000 children every day all over the world, but today, after international efforts to immunize every child everywhere, 5 million people are walking who would otherwise be paralyzed and the world is almost polio-free.
The success is the result of an improved vaccine and the intense efforts over the past several years by the Global Polio Eradication Partnership, a partnership that includes Rotary International, the UN Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO. Since the Initiative’s inception in 1988, the number of polio cases has dropped by 99 percent.
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STORIES OF IMPACT
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Somalia Successfully Eliminates Polio
Area of Involvement: Children’s Health
Somalia undertook a massive effort to eradicate polio. Learn about a massive vaccination effort led by 10,000 Somalis.
