Where there’s political will to end polio, there’s a way.
In 1988, a 10-month-old boy became the last Canadian to be struck by wild poliovirus. “A generation has passed since then,” says Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, past RI president and Canada’s polio advocacy chair. “Many no longer even remember how devastating polio is. That is a testament to the impact of our collaboration,” he continues, referring to the longstanding relationship between Rotary International and the government of Canada, the first country to donate to Rotary’s earliest fundraising campaign for polio eradication in the late 1980s.
This past October, 300 Rotary leaders gathered at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto to celebrate that collaboration, during the Rotary institute for zones 24 and 32. With K.R. Ravindran, then Rotary’s president-elect, by his side, Wilkinson presented Prime Minister Stephen Harper with the Polio Eradication Champion Award, an honor that The Rotary Foundation bestows to recognize high-level political commitment to the fight against polio.
The Foundation created the award in 1995, when it honored the late Albert Sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine, and his wife, along with members of the United States Congress who had been involved in Rotary’s earliest official advocacy efforts. Honorees since then have included Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany; British Prime Minister David Cameron; UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The award presented to Harper recognizes Canada’s recent funding commitments to the fight against polio, which have been bolstered by Rotarians nationwide. In support of Pennies for Polio, a fundraising campaign designed to engage students and the general public in the cause, the government agreed to match donations up to CA$1 million. It later increased the ceiling and extended the deadline to enable additional fundraising, for a total of $2.27 million pledged for immunization efforts. Early in 2013, Rotarians across the country began a concerted outreach campaign that targeted Canadian members of parliament, writing letters and extending invitations to Rotary club meetings and in-person conversations about polio. It was a success: Government representatives announced a five-year funding commitment of $250 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and its partners, which include the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at the April 2013 Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“Canadian Rotarians have worked hard by continually reminding their members of parliament about the need for successive governments to support Rotary’s worldwide effort,” Wilkinson says. “I’m convinced it was the letter-writing campaign initiated in Canada, as well as the personal meetings with members of parliament, that resulted in the generous financial support received to date.”
Abbott received the Polio Eradication Champion Award in December in recognition of Australia’s recent funding commitments, including AU$100 million from 2014 to 2018, announced at the 2014 Rotary International Convention in Sydney. The government of Australia has contributed US$63.75 million to date toward the global eradication of polio. Rotary members in Australia have played a significant part in the fight to end the disease. In 1979, Clem Renouf of Queensland, then Rotary president, led the effort to unite Rotary’s global membership behind a single cause for the first time in the history of the organization.
The Polio Eradication Champion Award is one of several Rotary efforts to garner political support for the cause, both in countries battling polio and in those where the disease is best known for its place in the history books. In March, Rotarians in Europe launched an intensive lobbying effort aimed at the European Parliament to secure a formal declaration to support polio eradication. And in May in the United States, where the recent controversy over measles vaccinations has brought the importance of immunizations into the spotlight, Rotary held its annual Congressional Champions reception in Washington, D.C., to recognize members of Congress who have been vocal in their support of polio eradication funding and efforts.
Speaking at a meeting of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS, held during the summit of the African Union in January, Marie-Irène Richmond-Ahoua, a member of Rotary’s African PolioPlus Committee and the Rotary Club of Abidjan-Bietry, Côte d’Ivoire, updated attendees on the continent’s incredible progress toward polio eradication and urged their assistance.
“As first ladies, you are in a unique position to set a public example,” she said. “Women look up to you. Your public statement of support for polio and other immunization activities helps build trust and confidence. I have experienced this firsthand in my own country. I invite you to do what you can to support a polio-free Africa. In doing so, you will leave your fingerprint on the history of your own country and of the world. You will provide a gift to the children of today and forevermore.” – Paul Engleman