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How can one help PolioPlus Ride 2003?
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New PolioPlus campaign offers fresh opportunity for participation With the number of polio cases having declined by 99 percent in the 16 years since Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation made polio eradication the highest priority, Rotarians are on the verge of achieving the cherished goal of protecting all children against the polio virus and finally ridding the world of the crippling disease. In this period, many of the challenges and obstacles in the path of the ultimate goal have been overcome through the pioneering work of Rotary's PolioPlus program. However, because of the changed priorities following the terrible events of 11 September 2001, it is now clear that without a special effort, governments, agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector will not be able to fill the US$400 million funding gap that threatens to snuff Rotary's dream of a polio-free world. Therefore, the RI Board of Directors and the Foundation Trustees have unanimously resolved to introduce a new campaign to raise additional funds for PolioPlus. Named "Fulfilling Our Promise: Eradicate Polio," this campaign will last only through the 2002-03 Rotary year, with the goal of raising $80 million. "In our earlier fundraising campaign, about 60 percent
of [today's] Rotarians did not participate," said Foundation Trustee Chairman
Luis Vicente Giay at the International Assembly in Anaheim, California,
USA. "Missing in 1987 were the many women who joined Rotary since 1989.
We are convinced that all Rotarians, including those who were not a part
of the original campaign, will fully support Rotary's
According to Chairman Giay, the funds raised through this campaign will multiply quickly because they will be matched or surpassed by funding from the World Bank, the Gates Foundation, and the United Nations Foundation. In some cases, every dollar brought in by Rotary will become a contribution of up to five dollars that will go to governments, the World Health Organization, or UNICEF to buy and distribute vaccine. "We will work together, contributing up to the very end,
and we will raise the standard of victory that will be recognized all over
the world after our sixteen-year plus struggle to leave a polio-free
world as our very best gift to the future generations who will never forget
the name of Rotary and your efforts," he said. It is estimated that
the world could save up to $1.5 billion per year from the cessation of
immunization and averted health care costs, and humanity would be spared
the immeasurable price paid in suffering by polio victims and their families.
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