The historic pledges of new funds at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, will go toward drastically shrinking the $1.5 billion gap in the funding that the partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative say is needed to reduce polio cases to zero worldwide.
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said ending polio would be one of the world’s greatest achievements.
"Polio is the thing I spend the most time on. Everyday I look at my email to see if we have a new case," Gates said. "I'm very inspired to be part of this. I'm also very humbled."
Rotary International President John F. Germ announced that Rotary would increase its commitment and raise $50 million per year over the next three years. Rotary has raised more than $1.7 billion to fight the disease since 1985.
“Right now, every time a new case is identified, it really could be the last one the world ever sees,” Germ said.
Gates told the crowd of nearly 24,000 that, starting 1 July, his foundation will extend its 2-to-1 match to cover up to $50 million in donations to Rotary for each of the next three years. The match and donations to Rotary would add up to $150 million per year over the next three years, which will add up to $450 million to the fight.
Twenty-seven countries, organizations, companies, and individuals pledged $1.2 billion at the Rotary International Convention in June. The United Kingdom pushed the total to $1.3 billion with a $130 million pledge in August.
The new funding will go toward polio eradication efforts such as disease surveillance, responses to any outbreaks, and the vaccination of more than 400 million children annually.
Rotary International photo: Bill Gates, co-chair of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and RI President John Germ share the recent news about their partnership in the fight to eradicate polio.
To view the list of Pledges, please click on this LINK.