Rotary members in London and across the world are cautiously celebrating
a major milestone in the global effort to eradicate the crippling disease polio. India, until
recently an epicentre of the wild poliovirus, has completed a full calendar year without
recording a new case since January 13th 2010.

Until tests come back from surveillance teams, it will not be confirmed that India is officially
clear of polio for the past year. It will be a further two years of successful tests before the
country is declared polio free. The 12-month milestone in India, where the last reported
case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal, continues the progress of 2010, when the
country recorded only 42 polio cases out of 1,352 worldwide.

The milestone is seen as a testament to the determination of Rotary members in Great
Britain and Ireland and the rest of the world, especially the 116,000-plus Rotarians of
India, to eradicate the infectious disease through the mass immunisation of children, a goal Rotary took on 27 years ago.

Rotary launched its polio eradication programme in 1985 and, in 1988, became a
spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, with the World Health
Organisation, UNICEF, and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Since
then, new cases of polio have plummeted by more than 99 percent, from more than
350,000 cases a year to only 604 reported so far for 2011.

RIBI President Ray Burman is immensely proud of the polio eradication effort by
Rotary: “Every Rotarian, everywhere supports this incredible campaign. We raise funds
and we support Rotarians in India and other endemic countries. Rotary members in India
have worked diligently month after month, year after year, to help organise and carry out
the National Immunisation Days that reach millions of children with the oral polio vaccine,
saving millions of young lives from this terrible disease.

“This is potentially the beginning of the end of polio in India but we must not be complacent. The disease can flare up suddenly so the vaccination programme must continue to make sure that no more children are struck by this curse.”

Rotary in London District Governor Trevor Johnson said: “Here in London Rotarians have
worked with communities to raise funds for this life-saving campaign. It is incredible to think that every penny raised is helping to spare children from this crippling and sometimes fatal disease. It has taken over 25 years but there is a lot of good news here and we are all hoping that tests will show that India is on the road to recovery.

“Marching ahead, the goal now is to sustain this momentum. There are Rotarians from London who are going out to Delhi to help with the National Immunisation Day next month. Their efforts will save the lives of millions.

“I’d like to thank everyone for supporting all our fundraisers and for helping in the drive to
make polio history. If you would like to know more about how Rotary has helped eradicate
polio, please do get in touch.”

If all ongoing testing for polio cases through January 13th continues to yield negative
results, India will be declared by the World Health Organisation to have interrupted
transmission of indigenous wild poliovirus, laying the groundwork for its removal from the
polio-endemic countries list, shared with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria.

However, other countries remain at risk for cases imported from the endemic countries,
which is why immunisations in India and other endemic and at-risk countries will continue.
Neighbouring Pakistan, which has reported 181 cases so far for 2011, is a major threat
to India’s continued polio-free status. In 2011, a polio outbreak in China, polio-free for a
decade, was traced genetically to Pakistan.

If you would like to know more about Rotary, contact your local Rotary club and discover
how you can make a world of a difference.

Rotarians and Rotaractors across Great Britain and Ireland are publicising World Polio Day, Monday 24th October, by harnessing the power of social media.

Rotary club members are posting polio stories to their social network sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on, including the following hashtag phrase in their message:

#rotaryendpolio

The inclusion of this phrase, in every post, will help create an active online discussion which will draw attention to the battle to eradicate polio and Rotary’s crucial involvement. Adding comments to online news sites will also help boost the discussion.

RIBI President Burman is keen for everyone to get involved: “For this campaign to work, Rotary needs as many people as possible to get involved and make #rotaryendpolio the most discussed topic within as many social networks as possible. Persuade your friends, relatives, work colleagues, even your local celebrity to get involved and help get this online discussion the most talked-about story around.

“I will be posting on my Facebook page, using the hashtag, and spreading the word about all the great things Rotary clubs and districts do to help eradicate polio. If we can get people talking about polio, we will be one step closer to making the disease history.”

This social media campaign aims to raise awareness of the need to eradicate this disease and Rotarians are urging everyone to get involved.

A dedicated Facebook page has been set up to help keep people in touch and up to date as the campaign progresses. Please visit theRIBI Social Media Facebook page and ‘like’ it.

To be involved:

1. On the 24th of October, put up posts about polio and include the hashtag #rotaryendpolio.
2. Add your comments to online news sites, again using the hashtag.
3. Where possible, add the link, to Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign website: www.rotary.org/EndPolio
4. Head to the RIBI Social Media Facebook page. Feel free to post your updates and ‘like’ the page.

Here are some examples that you may want to use:

1. Rotary began immunising children in 1985. Since then, Rotary club members have volunteered their time and personal resources to reach more than two billion children in 122 countries with the oral polio vaccine. #rotaryendpolio
2. Since 1995, the advocacy efforts of Rotary and its partners have helped raise more than $8 billion from donor governments.#rotaryendpolio
3. From having 125 polio-endemic countries, there are now just four  in the world. Make polio history by helping Rotary.#rotaryendpolio.
4. Thanks to Rotary and its partners, polio cases worldwide have plummeted by 99%. Help beat the final 1% by supporting Rotary www.rotary.org/EndPolio and World Polio Day. #rotaryendpolio
5. Thanks to the work of Rotary and its partners to eradicate polio, five million instances of child paralysis and 250,000 deaths have been prevented. #rotaryendpolio
6. Support World Polio Day by donating to Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign www.rotary.org/EndPolio and make this disease a thing of the past. #rotaryendpolio
7. I’m supporting World Polio Day and Rotary’s drive to eradicate polio. #rotaryendpolio
8. We stand on the brink of eradicating the second human disease in history. On World Polio Day, Monday 24th October, let’s support Rotary’s End Polio Now initiative www.rotary.org/EndPolio. #rotaryendpolio
9. Rotary clubs across Britain and Ireland have donated £10.5 million to polio immunisation intiatives, and Rotarians worldwide have raised around $1,000 million. #rotaryendpolio
10. Thanks to Rotary and its partners, polio cases have fallen from 1,000 each day to fewer than 1,000 a year (950 in 2010.)#rotaryendpolio

Rotarians – More information is available http://www.ribi.org/foundation/polio/world-polio-day-24th-october , including who to contact if you have any questions.

World Polio Day also marks the birthday of Dr Jonas Salk, who created the world’s first safe and effective vaccine against this crippling and, at times, fatal disease which affects the central nervous system.

Those most at risk of contracting polio are children under the age of five years old. Rotary has worked tirelessly since 1985 to wipe out polio from the world. Since becoming involved in the campaign, alongside CDC, WHO and UNICEF, Rotary has helped to reduce the number of endemic countries from 125 to just four; India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan.