Rotary, Gates Foundation Partner To Boost Polio Endgame Support

 
A bold new chapter in the partnership between Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at eradicating polio was announced at the Rotary International Convention in Lisbon, Portugal, late last month. The joint effort, called End Polio Now – Make History Today, will support the 2013-18 Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan.
 
“The Gates Foundation will match two-to-one, up to US$35 million per year, every dollar Rotary commits to reduce the funding shortfall for polio eradication through 2018,” said Jeff Raikes, the foundation’s chief executive officer, in a prerecorded video address shown during the plenary session on 25 June. “If fully realized, the value of this new partnership with Rotary is more than $500 million. In this way, your contributions to polio will work twice as hard.”