World Polio Day

Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have had to take bold action in the historic fight to eradicate polio.

In 1988, when Rotary and its partners founded the GPEI, the paralyzing disease affected 350,000 children. Our collaboration with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, local health workers, and national governments has helped reduce the number of Polio cases each year.

Patience Asiimwe, the protagonist of Rotary’s upcoming virtual reality film, “Two Drops of Patience,” will introduce the movie.

World Polio Day  is observed in late October to honor the birthday of Dr. Jonas Salk, who led the development of the first polio vaccine.

Link to World Polio Day website