What is polio?
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of five. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system.
Our goal
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Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 45 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.
Rotary's first polio project was to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. Inspired by that successful vaccination campaign, Rotary went on to become a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, which has reduced polio cases around the world by 99.9 percent.
Thanks to the generosity and commitment of our members, Rotary has contributed more than US$2.9 billion in PolioPlus grants and countless volunteer hours to protect more than 3 billion children in 122 countries from this disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $11 billion to the effort.
Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
Explore the history of Rotary and polio eradication
By the numbers
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1.00billion
doses of oral polio vaccine delivered in 2024
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270.00 million
children vaccinated in 2024
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US$0.15
average cost for a single dose of the oral polio vaccine
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Every donation helps us obtain the vaccines, transport and materials needed in the fight against polio.
Learn
Get informed and help make polio a subject of conversation in your community.
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