| |
|
Jt Statement by RI Pres and TRF Chairman on partnership with Gates Foundation
A historic day for Rotary
Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, Rotary International, President 2007-08
Robert S. Scott, The Rotary Foundation, Trustee Chair 2007-08
Dear Fellow Rotarians,
This is a historic day for Rotary. It is our great pleasure to inform
you of a new partnership between Rotary International and the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation that will provide a much needed US$200
million in support of our top goal of a polio-free world.
The Gates foundation has awarded The Rotary Foundation a challenge
grant of $100 million, which Rotary will match, dollar for dollar,
over three years. This is the largest single grant ever given to a
volunteer service organization and represents a tremendous validation
of the approach and success of our PolioPlus program.
This partnership comes at a critical juncture for the polio
eradication initiative, which needs an infusion of funds to reach the
eradication goal. For this reason, the initial $100 million will be
distributed by The Rotary Foundation through grants to the World
Health Organization and UNICEF in direct support of polio
immunization activities in 2008.
Your participation in this effort is crucial to making it a success.
The Rotary International Board of Directors and the Trustees of The
Rotary Foundation have unanimously agreed to accept this challenge
grant to ensure the success of the PolioPlus program. We feel
confident that this extraordinary commitment from the Gates
Foundation and Rotary will serve as a catalyst for further donations
from others to help us realize the dream of a polio-free world.
In 1985, we promised every child a world free from the threat of
polio, and we are almost there. This funding agreement between Rotary
and the Gates Foundation is a huge step forward, bringing us even
closer to our goal. Success is our only option.
Wilfrid J. Wilkinson
Robert S. Scott
RI Media Release on Partnership with Gates Foundation
Rotary International and Gates Foundation together commit $200
million to eradicate polio
EVANSTON, Ill., U.S.A. (Nov. 26, 2007) -- Rotary International today
announced a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that
will inject a much-needed US$200 million into the global campaign to
eradicate polio, a crippling and sometimes fatal disease that still
paralyzes children in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East and
threatens children everywhere.
The Rotary Foundation has received a $100-million Gates Foundation
grant, which Rotary will raise funds to match, dollar-for-dollar,
over three years. The Evanston-based volunteer service organization
will spend the initial $100 million within one year in direct support
of immunization activities carried out by the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a partnership spearheaded by the World
Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF.
"The extraordinary dedication of Rotary members has played a critical
role in bringing polio to the brink of eradication,
" says Bill Gates,
co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "Eradicating polio
will be one of the most significant public health accomplishments in
history, and we are committed to helping reach that goal."
The polio eradication grant is one of the largest challenge grants
ever given by the Gates Foundation and the largest grant received by
Rotary in its 102-year history. Polio eradication has been Rotary's
top priority since 1985. Since then, Rotary has contributed $633
million to the eradication effort.
"Rotary members worldwide have worked very hard over the years to
reach this point, and it is rewarding to see our approach validated
in such a significant way by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,"
says Dr. Robert Scott, who leads Rotary's polio eradication effort
and chairs The Rotary Foundation, the not-for-profit charitable arm
of Rotary that will administer the grant. "We hope that this shared
commitment of Rotary and the Gates Foundation will challenge other
donors – including foundations, governments and non-governmental
organizations – to step up and make sure we have the resources needed
to rid the world of polio once and for all."
Adds Rotary International President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson: "This
endorsement of Rotary's polio eradication efforts by the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation is just the catalyst and challenge Rotary
members need to keep our promise to the children of the world that
polio will be eradicated."
The Gates Foundation grant comes at a crucial juncture for the
initiative, which urgently needs an infusion of funds to reach the
eradication goal. Although the GPEI has succeeded in slashing the
number of polio cases by 99 percent over the past two decades, the
wild poliovirus still persists in four countries: Afghanistan, India,
Nigeria and Pakistan. The polio cases represented by that final one
percent are the most costly to prevent due to such factors as
geographical isolation, worker fatigue, low coverage with the
vaccine, armed conflict and cultural barriers.
Last month, WHO released data confirming that all four remaining
polio-endemic countries are on track to achieve eradication. In
particular, significant progress has been made in India and Nigeria,
which together account for 85 percent of the world's polio cases.
Nigeria has reported 226 cases so far this year, compared with 958 at
the same time last year. In both countries, more effective oral polio
vaccines have contributed to steady progress in reducing polio cases.
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan says the Gates Foundation
grant reaffirms that polio eradication is both feasible and
achievable. "This investment is precisely the catalyst we need as we
intensify the push to finish polio," said Chan. "We have the
technical tools to do it, and we can achieve a polio-free world if
the rest of our financial partners step up to meet the challenge."
Most of the initial $100 million will be spent in support of mass
immunization campaigns in polio-affected countries, poliovirus
surveillance activities and community education and outreach. The
grant will also support an expanded research agenda on ways to halt
the spread of the poliovirus. Rotary will distribute the funds
through grants to WHO and UNICEF.
"The funds made possible through the Gates Foundation grant will help
the Global Polio Eradication Initiative scale up its efforts to
provide oral polio vaccine to children in those isolated locations
where it's most needed," says UNICEF Executive Director Ann M.
Veneman. "This important contribution will improve the capacity to
protect vulnerable children from this debilitating disease."
CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding says the collaboration between
Rotary and the Gates Foundation underscores the importance of private
sector involvement in major public health efforts. "As a government
agency, we think it's wonderful that our private-sector colleagues
have taken a leadership role in something as important as polio
eradication. Their participation is absolutely critical."
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.
|
