News Category: Financing and donors

In addition to its yearly contribution of 25 000 Swiss francs to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Liechtenstein has further contributed 15 000 Swiss francs to polio eradication through Rotary International, one of the spearheading partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The country made the contribution working closely with Rotarians in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, for the organization’s ‘End Polio Now’ campaign. With the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations’ pledge to triple commitments made to polio eradication, and previous support by the country for WHO’s polio eradication activities, this brings Liechtenstein’s contribution for 2016 to 70 000 Swiss francs. Liechtenstein’s 2016 commitment to polio eradication equates to a per-capita contribution of more than 2 Swiss francs for every inhabitant of the country.

Dr Aurelia Frick, Foreign Minister of Liechtenstein, commented: “We are part of the global community and we are committed to playing our part in the global effort to wipe this devastating disease from the face of the planet. Our world is interconnected, and we know that our children remain at risk of reinfection until the disease has been stopped, once and for all. We will continue to support polio eradication until we have reached our goal.”

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The financial support will play a critical role in supporting the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and through the U.S. Agency for International Development. The funds will support ongoing efforts to stop wild poliovirus transmission in the remaining polio endemic countries, and help to reach more than 430 million children who remain at risk for contracting polio in a number of countries, primarily in Africa and Asia. 2015 saw significant progress in polio eradication with Nigeria and the entire continent of Africa passing a year without any new wild polio cases. World Health Organization removed Nigeria from the list of endemic countries. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan have confirmed cases of wild polio this year (66 as of December 18th) and we have seen a 79 percent reduction in cases from the same period of time last year.

“We’re delighted by the news of the US’s continued financial commitment to a polio free world at this critical time when we are so close to the finish line,” says Rotary Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for the United States Chair Jim Lacy. “Congress’ support of polio eradication is a fantastic example of bi-partisan collaboration on an issue of shared concern with concrete results. Members of Rotary clubs throughout the US and globally deeply appreciate the longstanding leadership of the US Government and are proud of the progress achieved through this public-private partnership.” [Read more]

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On 30 November 2015, Rotary International honoured four current and former Irish Government officials for their contribution to the global fight against poliovirus.

Diarmuid McClean of the Irish Embassy in Mozambique encouraged Ireland’s early commitment to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, while member of the Irish Parliament Joe Costello facilitated Ireland’s multi-year commitment of €5 million, announced at the 2013 Vaccines Summit in Abu Dhabi. Former member of the European Parliament Gay Mitchell was honoured for raising the profile of polio in the European parliament, and Member of the European Parliament Mairead McGuiness for gathering support for increased funding from the European Union.

With a commitment of more than US $27.2 million since 1988, the Government of Ireland has played a substantial part in reducing the burden of paralytic poliovirus, from over 350,000 cases a year in 1988 to 60 thus far in 2015.

Rotary International made polio eradication is main philanthropic goal in 1985. Since then, it has contributed more than US $1.5 billion, of which more than US $1 million has come from 2,000 members of the 72 Rotary clubs in Ireland.

With the world closer to eradicating polio that at any point in the past, it is more important now than ever that we maintain the momentum that has brought us this far. In this ‘low-season’ for virus transmission, support for eradication must be redoubled to ensure that every possible child is vaccinated against polio.

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Ireland to provide €5 million in fight to eradicate Polio

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Yemen launches on Saturday 15 August a national round of vaccination campaign against measles and polio, to protect children from these preventable diseases and ensure that Yemen remains polio-free. Despite the ongoing conflict in Yemen, the campaign is aiming to cover the entire country – more than 5 million under five years of age with polio vaccine and 1.4 million children under the age of 15. More than 40,000 health workers and volunteers are being mobilized for this effort, supported by the government and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

The conflict in Yemen has posed challenges to the polio eradication programme, including difficulties in distributing vaccines to health facilities, the closure of over 20% of health centres, and the inability of people to reach the centres that remain due to conflict. In spite of the political unrest in Yemen, 88% of children were reached with routine vaccines through health facilities and campaigns in 2014. A national measles, rubella and polio campaign was implemented in November 2014 reaching as many as 93% of children.

The campaign is made possible by contributors to the Horn of Africa polio outbreak, which has included operations in Yemen. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative receives financial support from governments of countries affected by polio; private sector foundations, donor governments, multilateral organizations, private individuals, humanitarian and nongovernmental organizations and corporate partners. Full list of all contributors.

National polio, measles and rubella campaign launched in Yemen [press release]

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The continued fight to eradicate polio gets an additional US$ 34.8 million boost from Rotary in support of immunization activities and research to be carried out by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The funds will be used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF for polio immunization, surveillance and research activities in ten countries, as well as to provide technical assistance to additional countries in Africa.

In 2014, the world saw significant progress against polio in most places. Nigeria – the last polio-endemic country in Africa – saw a nearly 90% reduction in cases in 2014 over 2013, with the last case recorded six months ago. In addition, more than half of the world’s polio cases in 2013 were the result of outbreaks in previously polio-free countries, largely caused by instability and conflict in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Somalia. These outbreaks appear to have been stopped in 2014 following special vaccination efforts in 11 countries, reaching more than 56 million children.

The exception to this progress was Pakistan, which saw an explosive outbreak which resulted in more than 300 cases in 2014, the highest number in the country in more than a decade. As a result, Pakistan accounted for over 80% of the world’s cases in 2014. In 2015, Pakistan has the opportunity to reverse that trend and in doing so, help the world end polio forever.

The progress made against the disease in 2014, while significant, is fragile. Rotary’s funds will support efforts to end polio in the three countries where the disease has never been stopped: US$ 8.1 million in Nigeria; US$ 1.1 million in Pakistan and US$ 6.7 million in Afghanistan.

Additional funds will support efforts to keep other at-risk countries polio-free. The grants include US$ 1.6 million, Cameroon: US$ 2.5 million, Chad; US$ 3.3 million, Democratic Republic of the Congo; US$ 1.1 million, Ethiopia; US$ 250 000, Kenya; US$ 2.8 million, Niger; and US$ 7 million, Somalia. In addition, grants totalling US$ 321 000 will provide technical assistance in Africa.

“We are encouraged to see the tangible progress made against this disease in 2014,” said Mike McGovern, chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee. “However, until we eliminate polio from its final reservoirs, children everywhere are at risk from this disease. Rotary – along with our partners – will work hard to ensure the world’s most vulnerable children are kept safe from polio.”

Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the WHO, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since the initiative launched in 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99 percent, from about 350 000 cases a year to 350 confirmed to date in 2014.

Rotary’s roles within the initiative are fundraising, advocacy, and social mobilization. To date, Rotary has contributed more than US$ 1.3 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018, every new dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to US$ 35 million a year.

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Monaco’s contribution comes at a critical moment because Niger remains at particular risk for polio and has been repeatedly re-infected by virus imported from neighbouring northern Nigeria. The wild poliovirus type 1 case with onset 15 November 2012 was linked to Nigeria as well as the 11 July 2013 case due to circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) which was related to cVDPV2 cases detected in 2013 in Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria.
The Government of Niger implemented a comprehensive response in line with international outbreak response guidelines issued by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Resolution WHA59.1. Following an initial supplementary immunization activity (SIA) on 15 January 2013, 4 nationwide and 3 subnational SIAs were conducted and, a joint national and international team of epidemiologists and public health experts were deployed by the World Health Organization ‘s Regional Office for Africa to assist the Government of Niger in the investigations, help plan response activities and support active searches for additional cases of paralytic polio.

Thanks to strong routine immunization (estimated at 95%), strong disease surveillance which rapidly detects new importations and strong outbreak response activities, poliovirus has so far not managed to re-establish a foothold following re-infection. Thanks to this, Niger is not only protecting its own children, but is in fact acting as an immunity ‘firewall’, minimizing the risk of further onward spread of poliovirus to other areas of West Africa.

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Geneva – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Saudi Fund for Development signed a memorandum of understanding last week allowing for the transfer of the final installment of the Fund’s US$ 30 million commitment to ending polio.

Thanks to this agreement, a further US$ 7.5 million will flow from the Saudi Fund for Development to the WHO for the cost of polio eradication operations in the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan. UNICEF has already received US$ 17.5 million for the purchase of oral polio vaccine (OPV) and WHO a previous installment of US$ 5 million.

WHO Assistant Director-General for Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration, Dr. Bruce Aylward welcomed the contribution: “Saudi Arabia is an important partner in polio eradication and a leader in their region. Their support will play a critical role in putting a stop to the virus in the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan.”

The Saudi Fund’s contribution comes at a critical moment. Polio virus continues to threaten children in the Horn of Africa region due to an ongoing outbreak centred in Somalia. These funds will help the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to carry out mass vaccination campaigns, increase immunity levels in the affected countries, stop the outbreak and protect other countries in the region from becoming infected with the virus. Additionally, support for the Afghanistan program will help to ensure that the progress made in 2013 continues. Afghanistan is seeing a 60% reduction in polio cases compared to this time last year and has seen no cases in its endemic southern region for a year.

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KOFIH takes part in Nigerian Rapid Surveillance Assessment

25 September 2013 – The Nigeria Polio Eradication Initiative has been supported in 2013 by the Korean Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH), a specialized organization under the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. A delegate from KOFIH, Dr Adam Jaehyeok Lee (pictured below), joined a team working on a Rapid Surveillance Assessment in Sokoto. The team consisted of members from Federal Ministry of Health, National Primary Health Care Authority and WHO. They spent five days carrying out activities including visiting health facilities, interviewing health practitioners, meeting community informants and reviewing documentation. At the end they provided feedback and recommendations to the State.

This is the first grant from KOFIH in support of polio eradication activities and was made possible by the Community Chest of Korea which was established in 2006 to promote international cooperation. KOFIH plays a key role in providing development assistance for health by supporting projects for a disease-free world through focusing on child health and health systems strengthening.

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LISBON, Portugal – On 25 June, Rotary International and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced an extension of their existing fundraising partnership that could generate up to US$525 million in new money for polio eradication as the global effort to end this crippling disease enters its critical endgame phase.

Under the new agreement, announced before an audience of more than 20,000 Rotary members from 160 countries gathered in Lisbon for the humanitarian group’s annual convention, the Gates Foundation will match 2 for 1 every new dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication up to $35 million per year through 2018.

All funds raised will support crucial immunization activities in polio-affected countries. These are part of a comprehensive six-year plan to eradicate both wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived virus announced in April by the eradication initiative during the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi. At the Summit, global leaders and individual philanthropists signaled their confidence in the endgame plan by pledging $4 billion, nearly three-quarters of the plan’s projected $5.5 billion cost. They also called upon additional donors to commit the additional $1.5 billion needed to ensure eradication. Since then, the government of Australia, and now Rotary, are committing funding toward the remaining $1.5 billion gap through 2018.

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Rotary recognized today the longstanding support and continued leadership of the German government in support of polio eradication by presenting the Polio Eradication Champion Award to Dirk Niebel, Minister for Economic Development Cooperation.

Germany is a longtime supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) with contributions totalling US$ 417 million through 2012. Germany announced a new commitment of € 100 million at an April 2013 Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi . An additional € 5 million in support was announced to support improved security in the remaining polio affected countries in light of recent violent and deadly attacks on health workers.

“Polio is a scourge of mankind. Today we have a unique opportunity to eradicate this devastating disease. We have a responsibility to defeat polio so that future generations will only know about this disease from text books. Rotary has been successfully focused on this task for decades. The achievements so far have been overwhelming. And this is precisely why we must now also go the very last step. I am convinced that polio eradication will be achieved if everyone is on board – the States, civil society and the economy,” said Niebel.

German Rotary International Board Member Holger Knaack, who presented the award remarked, “The successful fight against polio would not be possible without the participation of governments. Rotary International would like to thank the Ministry for Economic cooperation and development aid for the long-term exemplary commitment.”

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The government’s announcement was made during a whirlwind visit by Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist, Bill Gates, on 28 May. Addressing a room full of journalists and politicians at a function hosted by the National Press Club in Canberra, Mr Gates said, “Finishing polio really is worth it. It’ll improve these health systems and save so much money.”

Australia’s renewed funding will go towards the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018, which was shared with world leaders at the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi late last month and was recently endorsed by the World Health Assembly. The plan has so far received overwhelming support, with governments and private philanthropists making substantial pledges, including Mr Gates – who announced that his foundation would be chipping in US$1.8 billion to end this disease.

The Global Poverty Project’s The End of Polio campaign has been working with partner organizations to raise awareness and lobby the Australian Government for further support for polio eradication – including partnering with UNICEF to run an event at Australia’s Parliament House earlier this year. The campaign has been working alongside Rotarians and others to convince the government that eradicating polio isn’t just the right thing to do, but what the Australian public wants them to do.

“Our supporters have been incredible,” said Michael Sheldrick, the 25-year-old Australian who runs The End of Polio campaign internationally. “They’ve signed petitions, tweeted, called, emailed and visited their political representatives in person to convince them that polio eradication is an issue worth caring about. In the week leading up to this announcement, they sent more than 150 letters to Foreign Minister Bob Carr’s office, calling on him to commit additional funding.

More than US$4 billion has been pledged so far towards the new plan’s US$5.5 billion total budget. While this is a substantial commitment, a funding gap of around US$1.5 billion remains. The full funding, up front, of the new strategic plan will be critical if this disease is to finally be eradicated.

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The Korean Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH), a specialized organization under the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, has officially joined the fight against polio. In its first grant to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the Foundation has provided US$1 million towards surveillance activities in Africa, specifically in Nigeria. This grant was made possible by the Community Chest of Korea.

Established in 2006 to promote international cooperation, KOFIH plays a key role in providing development assistance for health within Korea, by supporting projects for a disease-free world through focusing on child health and health systems strengthening.

Surveillance for cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) is the core strategy employed by the GPEI to detect the transmission of wild polio viruses and vaccine-derived polio viruses, guide the supplementary immunization activities, and facilitate the eventual certification of wild poliovirus eradication. As eradication efforts continue to be implemented within the context of the ‘emergency’ in the remaining infected areas, it is critical to protect the gains achieved elsewhere, in particular in areas at high risk for re-infection. A key strategy is to ensure strong surveillance for AFP in order to rapidly detect an eventual importation or re-emergence of polio in polio-free areas. Rapid detection enables a rapid response, and hence the consequences of a re-infection can be minimized.

During the World Health Assembly, Dr Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General, met with the President of KOFIH, Lee Soo-ku, to thank the Foundation for joining the Initiative and providing critical financial support for an area of work that “lets the world know whether we are on track or not”.
(c) WHO/A. Balachandran

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April 25, 2013 – Today, at the Global Vaccine Summit, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) presented a comprehensive six-year plan, the first plan to eradicate all types of polio disease – both wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived cases – simultaneously. Global leaders and individual philanthropists signaled their confidence in the plan by pledging three-quarters of the plan’s projected US$ 5.5 billion cost over six years. They also called upon additional donors to commit up front the additional US$1.5 billion needed to ensure eradication.

The new plan capitalizes on the best opportunity to eradicate polio, with the number of children paralyzed by this disease at their lowest level ever (223 in 2012,and 19 so far this year). The urgency is linked to the tremendous advances made in 2012 and the narrow window of opportunity to seize on that progress and stop all poliovirus transmission before polio-free countries become re-infected.

“After millennia battling polio, this plan puts us within sight of the endgame. We have new knowledge about the polioviruses, new technologies and new tactics to reach the most vulnerable communities. The extensive experience, infrastructure and knowledge gained from ending polio can help us reach all children and all communities with essential health services,” said World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan.

Press release in English ¦ Arabic

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15 March 2013- Both sides of politics came together in Canberra, Australia, on Tuesday 12 March to declare their support for ending polio.

The Global Citizen Gathering, co-hosted by UNICEF and the Global Poverty Project, was held on the lawns of Parliament House to catalyse support for polio eradication among Australian political leaders in the lead-up to the Global Vaccine Summit to be held in Abu Dhabi this April.

Both the Foreign Minister, Senator the Hon Bob Carr and the Deputy Opposition Leader, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, spoke of their commitment to ending this disease.

“Australia commends the initiative of Bill Gates, the UN Secretary General and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in convening in convening a Global Vaccine Summit in April in Abu Dhabi. The Summit will include the launch of an Endgame Strategy to eradicate polio by 2018. Australia is proud to be a partner in this final push to polio eradication,” said Senator Carr.

In a statement read out at the event, Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, applauded Australia’s commitment to polio eradication. Meanwhile the Young Australian of the Year, Akram Azimi, took the opportunity to share the story of how Australian foreign aid dollars had changed his life:

“I am walking and breathing freely today because Australian tax payers contributed funds to vaccinate children – like me – in war-torn Afghanistan against polio. These Australian tax payers chose not to leave my health to blind chance—and for this, I could not be more grateful.”

Other speakers at the event included Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Malik Abdullah, Dr Julie Hall, Polio Programme Lead at UNICEF, and Samah Hadid, the Australian Director of the Global Poverty Project.

On the same day in New Zealand, the Global Poverty Project’s The End of Polio campaign gave a presentation to Members of Parliament, Rotarians and others; highlighting the progress achieved in the battle to end this disease.

And while The End of Polio campaign was focused on Canberra and Wellington, Bill Gates, Rotary International and the UN Foundation’s Shot at Life campaign were taking on Washington DC. The group came together on 14 March for a rally on the steps of Capitol Hill before a lunch briefing was held for Congressional staff members. Discussion focused on the importance of continued US support for the worldwide campaign to eradicate polio.

With the Global Vaccine Summit and the launch of the new polio eradication strategic plan just around the corner, members of the global movement to end polio are pulling out all the stops to build support among donor governments. Without sufficient funding for the new plan, the world could miss the opportunity to end the scourge of polio once and for all.

As Dr Hall said at the Global Citizen Gathering last Tuesday, “we are, as Rotary says, this close to finishing the job. This close to creating a polio free world and this close to finding a path to the missed children – missed for polio and missed for many other essential services too.”

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New York, (February 28, 2013) – In a major new commitment, business publishing magnate and New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced a $100 million donation to support polio eradication efforts through Bloomberg Philanthropies. The donation will help fund the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s six-year plan to eradicate polio.

“It’s unthinkable that polio still exists in the world when we have the tools and technology to protect children from this preventable, debilitating disease. Now is the time to invest in making polio history. Doing so will protect future generations of children and pave the way for other life-saving interventions to reach the world’s most vulnerable populations,” said Bloomberg.

Bloomberg joins key private donors to polio eradication, including the founder of CNN and the UN Foundation Ted Turner, Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote and Indian philanthropist Rajshree Birla.

The number of polio cases plunged to the lowest level ever in 2012 – less than 225 cases – and the number of countries where polio transmission has never been stopped was reduced to three – Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. India, long-regarded as the nation facing the greatest challenges to ending polio, was declared polio-free in February 2012. In response, the World Health Assembly declared ending polio a “programmatic emergency” for global public health and the Presidents of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan are overseeing the implementation of emergency action plans in their countries. These plans have led to significant advancements in the efforts to reach hard-to-access children with the polio vaccine.

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…So when the Gates Foundation challenged Rotary International to raise US$200 million, they set to work with gusto.

Back in 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation issued Rotary International a challenge – raise US$ 100 million for polio eradication in the next three years, and the Foundation would chip in an extra US$ 100 million.

What the Gates Foundation probably did not expect was the enthusiasm with which this challenge was met. Within 12 months Rotary International’s global network of volunteers had already raised US$ 60 million.

So the Gates Foundation upped the ante; challenging Rotary to double their contribution by end-June 2012 in return for a US$ 355 million contribution from the Foundation. And wouldn’t you know it, Rotarians are already 93% of the way there – raising US$ 185 million with 10 months to spare.

For more on how Rotarians around the world are working in innovative ways to meet the $US 200 million challenge, read Rotary International’s story.