Background: Polio has been a global pandemic for over 1000 years. The polio vaccine was developed here in the early 1950's and by 1954 it was rolled out to the US. By the early 1960's polio was a thing of the past..yet in most of the lesser developed world, it continued to spread and claim victims. In 1986, Rotary International along with medical support from the World Health Organization embarked on the most ambitious vaccination campaign ever conceived. The goal, to vaccinate some 3 billion people in 108 countries. Some 34 years later and over $860M spent we stand on the edge of a polio free world. For right now, join us as we celebrate the eradication of the polio virus from the African continent.
AFRICAN REGION CERTIFIED WILD POLIO-FREE |
It our pleasure to announce to you that the African region has just been certified wild poliovirus-free.
Rotary members have played an invaluable role in the effort to rid the African region of wild polio. We should be proud of all the hard work that we’ve done to eliminate the wild poliovirus throughout Africa and in nearly every country in the world.
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