EVANSTON, Ill. (August 15, 2018) — Rotary today announced nearly $100 million in grants to support the global effort to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year.
The announcement comes as Nigeria marks two years without any reported cases of wild poliovirus, following four reported cases in 2016.
“The fact that no new cases of wild poliovirus have been detected in Nigeria points to the improved surveillance and rapid response protocols Rotary and its Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners have established, particularly in insecure and inaccessible areas,” said Michael K. McGovern, chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee. “While this progress is promising, it’s time to redouble our efforts so we can continue to maintain the political and financial support necessary to end polio for good.”
While significant strides have been made against the paralyzing disease, wild poliovirus is still a threat in parts of the world, with 10 cases in Afghanistan and three cases in Pakistan this year so far. As long as a single child has polio, all children are at risk, which underscores the need for ongoing funding and political commitment to eradication.
To support polio eradication efforts in countries where polio remains endemic, Rotary is allocating the majority of the funds it announced today to Afghanistan ($22.9 million), Pakistan ($21.7 million), and Nigeria ($16.1 million).
Further funding will support efforts to keep 12 vulnerable African countries polio-free:
Cameroon ($98,600)
Central African Republic ($394,400)
Chad ($1.71 million)
Democratic Republic of the Congo ($10.4 million)
Guinea ($527,300)
Madagascar ($690,000)
Mali ($923,200)
Niger ($85,300)
Sierra Leone ($245,300)
Somalia ($776,200)
South Sudan ($3.5 million)
Sudan ($2.6 million)
Africa will also see $5.8 million in funding for surveillance activities and $467,800 for technical assistance. Additional funding will go to Bangladesh ($504,200), Indonesia ($157,800), Myanmar ($197,200), and Nepal ($160,500), with an additional $96,300 funding surveillance in Southeast Asia. The remainder of the funding ($6.6 million) will go to the World Health Organization (WHO) for research activities.
Rotary has committed to raising $50 million a year to be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, yielding $450 for polio eradication activities over a three-year period. To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion to fight the disease, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and countless volunteer hours since launching its polio immunization program, PolioPlus, in 1985. In 1988, Rotary became a core partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the WHO, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Gates Foundation later joined. Since the initiative launched, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases in 1988 to 22 confirmed in 2017.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of community leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. We connect 1.2 million members from more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. Visit rotary.org and endpolio.org for more about Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio.
The August 2018 RB Sunrise Rotary Club Board of Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, Aug 30 at 4:30 pm at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo. Red badge members are encouraged to attend in order to earn points for becoming a blue badge member.
Board meetings are always open to all members, but as a courtesy those members who may elect to attend a board meeting should email President Mike Moffat so that we can make the proper arrangements with CCRB.
Jean Larsen Earns Blue Badge
At our August 14, 2018 meeting, Jean Larsen was recognized as a blue badge member. Membership co-chair Mary Stanton and sponsor Laura Mello were on hand to present a membership plaque to Jean in recognition of this milestone. Congratulations to Jean for completing all her requirements for full membership in Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club!
EVANSTON, Ill. (Aug. 17, 2018) — Preventing conflicts from escalating into violent crises is 60 times more cost effective than intervening after violence erupts, according to the Carnegie Corporation of New York. A recent partnership between the membership service organization Rotary and Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) aims to bring community-based solutions to prevent conflict in more communities.
Rotary has worked with MBBI – an impact organization founded on the principle of people-centered peacebuilding – since 2013 to advance our common goals for peace. This new, partnership will enable Rotary members to train with MBBI to sharpen their mediation, dialogue and other conflict transformation skills. Rotary’s 1.2 million members, located in over 200 countries and regions, will help MBBI expand its network of trained mediators – potentially transforming conflict in communities not previously reached.
“We are excited to continue our collaboration with MBBI to build local capacity for lasting peace in more communities,” said John Hewko, general secretary of Rotary International. “As trusted leaders attuned to the needs of their communities, Rotary members are well positioned to help find grassroots solutions to local conflicts.”
“We are honored to partner with Rotary and thereby enhance our ability to build a 'peace able' world through 'service above self,’” said Prabha Sankaranarayan, CEO of MBBI. “At this critical moment in time, we tackle three major factors contributing to violent conflict in the world: the largest migration of populations in the history of mankind, climate change, and economic inequality. Together with Rotary International's extraordinary global network of committed volunteers, we hope to have the dangerous dialogues and courageous conversations that can make a difference, that can not only prevent violent conflict but also build thriving communities.”
MBBI’s members are at the center of a movement for global peacebuilding through advocacy, capacity building and consultations.
About Rotary: Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
About Mediators Beyond Borders International: MBBI’s mission is to build local skills for peace and promote mediation worldwide. Recognizing that the only lasting peace is the one built by those involved, MBBI advances the objectives of its 125 global partners by delivering services and enhancing skills for evidence-based context assessment, trauma-informed peacebuilding, post-conflict reconciliation and recovery, cross-sector and network collaboration, project design, implementation, evaluation and peacebuilding leadership that prioritizes the elevation of women and youth as leaders. Since 2007, more than 250 distinguished MBBI professional volunteer mediation, conflict transformation, trauma recovery and academic specialists have been catalyzing the success of local partners working to build a more peace “able” world in 33 countries on five continents.