October 31, 2019, The Clarksville Times, publicized Clarksville Rotary Club's observance of World Polio Day on October 24. In an effort to raise awareness, funds and support to end polio, Rotarians in the 35,000 clubs worldwide annually observe World Polio Day on October 24. Polio is a vaccine preventable disease, which still threatens children in parts of the world today. In 1985, Rotary International launched PolioPlus, the first and largest internationally coordinated private-sector support of a public health initiative with an initial fundraising target of $120 million.
In 1988, when there were an estimated 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which is a public-private partnership was launched and now has five partners fighting to eradicate polio worldwide……..Rotary International, the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So far, Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion toward the eradication of polio worldwide and over 2.5 billion children have been vaccinated in 122 countries. Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. With no new wild polio cases reported in over three years, Nigeria may soon be declared polio-free. In support of the World Polio Day event, the members of the Clarksville Rotary Club contributed $500.00 to the PolioPlus Fund of The Rotary Foundation.
