Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 21 January, 2009 - 23:06
I received this mailing from the Gates Foundation today and was impressed by the size of the commitment and the partners involved - Rotary, Gates, UK and Germany. I knew Rotary was deeply committed to polio eradication but did not know the scale of the investments. I would be interested to hear more from Kabissa members about how this news will be received in Africa, in particular in Nigeria, and how the problem of polio is being addressed by local organisations in your communities. Also - how will innovative technologies be applied to address this seemingly intractible problem. -Tobias
SAN DIEGO -- Rotary International, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, and the British and German governments today committed more
than $630 million in new funds to fight polio, a crippling and sometimes fatal disease that still paralyzes children in parts of
Africa and Asia and threatens children everywhere. In addition to
pledging needed funds, leaders urged additional donors and leaders of
countries where polio still exists to join them in an aggressive push
for eradication.
The Gates Foundation is awarding a $255 million challenge grant to
Rotary, which Rotary will match with $100 million raised by its members
over the next three years. At the same time, the United Kingdom is
giving an additional $150 million and Germany is giving an additional
$130 million (? 100 million), both to the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative (GPEI). Contributions from the U.K. and Germany over the
next five years will not count toward Rotary's match of the Gates
Foundation challenge grant.
As a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
(GPEI), Rotary's chief role is fundraising, advocacy, and mobilizing
volunteers. The announcements came during the Rotary International
Assembly, the humanitarian service organization's annual leadership
conference.
"Rotarians, government leaders, and health professionals have made a
phenomenal commitment so polio afflicts only a small number of the
world's children," said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation.
"However, complete elimination of the polio virus is difficult and will
continue to be difficult for a number of years. Rotary in particular
has inspired my own personal commitment to get deeply involved in
achieving eradication."
In accepting the Gates challenge, Rotary Foundation Chair Jonathan
Majiyagbe said the funding partnership will inspire other polio
eradication allies, both current and new, to ramp up their support.
"With the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we are on
the brink of eradicating one of the most feared diseases in the world,"
Majiyagbe said. "This shared commitment of Rotary and the Gates
Foundation should encourage governments and nongovernmental
organizations to ensure that resources and the will of the world are
available to end polio once and for all."
UK International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said, "This
£100 million pledge by the UK Government, combined with the money from
our other partners, is a massive boost in the battle to rid the world
of the scourge of polio. We have already significantly increased the
number of vaccinations for those people most at risk, and there has
been real progress in reducing the number of new infections. Now is the
time to make the final push to eradicate polio. This investment will
ensure future generations in the developing world will no longer have
their lives blighted by this crippling disease."
New funding and government support still required The polio eradication
initiative faces an ongoing funding shortfall that must be closed if
eradication is to be achieved. With these new investments, along with
contributions received from Canada, Russia, the United States, and
other donors, the shortfall for 2009-10 is $340 million. The new
funding from Germany will further reduce the gap.
"G-8 countries pledged repeatedly to take all necessary steps to
eradicate polio," said Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, German Minister for
Economic Cooperation and Development. "Germany has contributed
significantly to living up to this commitment. We urge other countries
to join us in closing the funding gap and ensuring that health workers
have the support they need to protect the world's children from polio."
Polio has been completely eliminated in the Americas, the Western
Pacific, and Europe, but the wild polio virus persists in Afghanistan,
India, Nigeria, and Pakistan, and imported cases from these countries
threaten other developing nations. It is in these four countries that
the most serious challenges exist, including vaccine effectiveness
(India), low vaccination coverage rates (Nigeria), and access problems
due to conflict (Afghanistan and Pakistan). Much depends on the
countries themselves. Recent progress in key areas has shown that these
challenges can be overcome with sufficient national and sub-national
commitment.
Launched in 1988, the GPEI--spearheaded by Rotary, the World Health
Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and
UNICEF--has reduced the number of polio cases by 99 percent over the
past two decades, from more than 350,000 cases in 1988 to an estimated
1,600 in 2008.
The GPEI partners will use the new polio eradication funds to support a range of activities, including:
- National Immunization Days, when countries aim to immunize every child younger than 5 years old with oral polio vaccine.
- Supplemental immunization activities focused on providing extra vaccinations to children in high-risk areas.
- Research into new vaccines and ways to ensure they are available to vulnerable children.
- Surveillance activities to detect cases of polio so that progress can be measured and outbreaks contained.
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said: "Together with enhanced
commitment by the last four endemic countries at all levels, the new
funding commitments are precisely what is needed to help the
governments in these countries overcome the remaining barriers to
reaching every child with polio vaccine."
"Successfully eradicating polio is crucially important, not just to
ensure that no child will ever again be paralyzed by this devastating
disease, but also to show that today--in the 21st century--we can
deliver life-saving health interventions to every single child, no
matter where they live, and even in the most difficult and challenging
environments," said Dr. Chan, who in 2008 made polio eradication WHO's
top operational priority.
This is the second challenge grant for polio eradication the Gates
Foundation has given Rotary. The first came in November 2007, when
Rotary agreed to match a $100 million grant dollar-for-dollar.
Rotary clubs worldwide already are hard at work raising the matching
funds for what the organization has named Rotary's $200 Million
Challenge. Since the first Gates Foundation challenge grant was
announced, Rotary clubs have raised more than $60 million toward the
goal. Their enthusiastic commitment was a major reason the second
challenge was made and accepted. Rotary also invites the general public
to participate by visiting Help End Polio to learn about polio
eradication and contribute to Rotary's $200 Million Challenge.
For video and still photos go to:
Rotary on the Newsmarket - http://www.thenewsmarket.com/
Gates Foundation on the Newsmarket - http://www.gatesfoundation.
###
About Rotary International
Founded in Chicago in 1905, Rotary is a worldwide organization of
business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and
help to build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary's global
membership is approximately 1.2 million men and women who belong to
more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and
geographical areas.
###
About Rotary International
Founded in Chicago in 1905, Rotary is a worldwide organization of
business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and
help to build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary?s global
membership is approximately 1.2 million men and women who belong to
more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and
geographical areas.
###
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives
around the world. In developing countries, it focuses on improving
health, reducing extreme poverty, and increasing access to technology
in public libraries. In the United States, the foundation seeks to
ensure that all people have access to a great education and to
technology in public libraries. In its local region, it focuses on
improving the lives of low-income families. Based in Seattle, the
foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chairs William H. Gates
Sr., Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates.
Post new comment