Polio eradication explained

Do you have questions about Rotary’s pledge to end polio? We’ve got answers.

By Etelka Lehoczky

You’ve likely heard a lot about polio in recent weeks. Rotary members talk about it all year, but never more than in the month leading up to World Polio Day on 24 October. It’s one of the most important days of the year for Rotary — a time to reaffirm our nearly four-decade commitment to eliminating this disease from the world.

Polio eradication may seem complicated, but it’s actually fairly straightforward. If you’ve ever wondered about the science of the disease, the history of Rotary’s fight against it, or the progress of the global eradication effort, find the answers to those questions and more below.

What is polio, and why is it such a threat?

Poliomyelitis, also known as polio, is a highly infectious disease that mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord and brain stem. Most people infected with the virus don’t show any symptoms, but a small number become paralyzed. Polio primarily targets children under age five.

Polio can spread rapidly from person to person, such as through a cough or a sneeze. If an infected person doesn’t wash their hands after coughing or using the toilet, they can transmit the virus even if they don’t know they’re infected. Polio can also spread through contaminated water in areas with poor sanitation.

Wild poliovirus occurs naturally in the environment and has three types. Type 2 and type 3 were declared eradicated in the 2010s, but type 1 remains. Variant poliovirus occurs when the weakened strain of virus contained in the oral vaccine circulates for a long time and mutates into a form that can cause paralysis like wild polio. Variant poliovirus cases are rare.

Why does Rotary care about polio eradication?

Rotary members are determined to end polio for many reasons — including that its effects are terrible, and its main victims are young children. Rotary International began working to vaccinate children against polio in 1979. In 1985, Rotary created its PolioPlus program to amplify these efforts. Then in 1988, Rotary and our partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

We’ve come a remarkably long way since then. Polio was endemic in 125 countries in 1988; that’s down to two now. The global effort to eradicate polio has prevented an estimated 20 million cases of paralysis.

Wiping out this disease is possible. We are very close to ensuring that no child suffers from polio ever again.

How widespread is polio? Can it affect me?

Wild polio remains endemic in only Afghanistan and Pakistan. But because it spreads so easily, one or two cases can quickly multiply. In our world of global travel, an infected person can carry the disease to the other side of the world even if they aren’t sick themselves. In 2022, an adult in New York, USA, contracted polio and was paralyzed. Genetic testing of the virus infecting that person linked it to polio viruses found in London and Jerusalem. This shows that as long as polio exists somewhere in the world, nobody is truly safe.

How do we fight polio?

Polio is fought primarily with vaccines and environmental surveillance. The GPEI promotes both routine and supplementary campaigns to immunize young children. Surveillance consists of identifying and promptly reporting polio cases and monitoring sewage water for the presence of the virus.

What role does Rotary have in the GPEI?

Rotary helped create the GPEI, whose other core partners include the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Rotary members fight polio in many ways, including:

Raising funds
Soliciting support from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and corporations
Immunizing children
Raising awareness in their communities

Rotary has helped immunize 3 billion children against polio, contributed more than US$2.9 billion to global polio eradication efforts, and helped secure more than US$11 billion from donor governments.

How can I help eradicate polio?

Find a World Polio Day event through your local Rotary or Rotaract club and keep working against polio at other times of the year as well. You can:

Organize an event to raise funds and promote awareness in your community. Try a group walk or bike ride, a concert featuring local bands, or a barbecue.
Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about the importance of continuing the fight against polio.
Write to your local and national representatives to ask for their continued support.
Post on social media about the need to eradicate polio.
Create a fundraising campaign using Raise for Rotary, our online crowdfunding tool.

Rotary knows that a world without polio is within our grasp. On World Polio Day and throughout the year, we’ll keep fighting.

Learn more about World Polio Day.

— October 2025