Why We Fight Polio
Stories of Hope
Events, milestones and moments from President Yinka and Coco's global journey to end polio forever.
$116,700
Raised So Far
38,900
Vaccines Funded
Why This Matters
The Fight Against Polio
Forty years ago, polio paralyzed 1,000 children every single day. Here's how Rotary and the world fought back — and why we can't stop now.
Donate Now99.9%
drop in polio cases since 1988
3 billion+
children vaccinated worldwide
20 million
people walking who would have been paralyzed
$2.7 billion+
contributed by Rotary to end polio
1955
The first vaccine
Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine is declared safe and effective. Until then, polio paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children every year and was one of the most feared diseases on earth.
1979
Rotary steps in
Rotary launches its first project to buy and deliver polio vaccine to 6 million children in the Philippines — the spark that would grow into a global movement.
1985
PolioPlus is born
Rotary creates PolioPlus, the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication by vaccinating every child in the world.
1988
The world joins the fight
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is founded by Rotary with WHO, UNICEF and the CDC. At the time, polio paralyzed about 350,000 children a year across 125 countries.
1994
The Americas: polio-free
The Americas become the first region in the world certified free of polio — proof that eradication is possible.
2000–2002
Two more regions win
The Western Pacific and Europe are certified polio-free, protecting billions of people.
2011
India’s last case
India — once considered the hardest place on earth to end polio — records its final case. The South-East Asia region is certified polio-free in 2014.
2020
Africa: wild polio-free
The African region is certified free of wild poliovirus after decades of immunization work reaching even the most remote communities.
Today
The last 0.1%
Wild polio survives in just two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are 99.9% of the way there — but until polio is gone everywhere, every child is one plane ride away from risk.
Just $3 vaccinates a child against polio for life. Help us finish what the world started.
Donate Now — End Polio ForeverLearn more at endpolio.org ↗
Dispatches From the Road