Korede Abdullah in Lagos
Rotary International and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced a renewed funding commitment of up to $450 million (N720 billion) over the next three years to help wipe out polio worldwide.
The pledge, made on Wednesday, at the Rotary International Convention, will see Rotary raise $50 million annually, with the Gates Foundation matching every dollar with two more.
“While historic progress has been made toward defeating polio—90 percent of the world’s population is now free from wild poliovirus—we’re facing significant challenges,” said Mike McGovern, Chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee.
The renewed funding will sustain vital parts of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), which includes vaccine delivery, surveillance, community outreach, and outbreak response in the last two endemic countries—Afghanistan and Pakistan—and in at-risk regions.
“Rotary was the first to envision a world without polio—and today, we have the tools and knowledge to make that vision a reality,” said Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation.
“If we all maintain our commitment and keep funding the solutions we know work, then soon, no family will have to live in fear of this horrific disease ever again”, he added.
Rotary International President, Stephanie Urchick, described the partnership as proof of enduring resolve: “For 40 years, Rotary has remained steadfast in our commitment to ending polio for good. The Gates Foundation’s continued partnership underscores the importance of this global effort.”
Since 1988, global efforts have slashed polio cases by 99.9 percent—from 350,000 annually to just a handful. In 2024, Rotary showed its emergency response capacity by funding a vaccination campaign in Gaza after a confirmed case in a 10-month-old child.
