At the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta in June, world leaders were on hand to celebrate a historic $1.2 billion in commitments to finance polio eradication. It was a huge moment for the polio eradication effort. But how did it come about?
A group of Rotary volunteers has been hard at work behind the scenes: our PolioPlus national advocacy advisers. This team of Rotarians from donor countries has a mission to make sure polio eradication is on the global agenda. In the corridors of power, they relentlessly work their connections – lunches with government officials, phone calls with ministers – to garner money and support for ending the disease.
And they’ve been successful: Since Rotary’s advocacy program started in 1995, it has generated more than $8 billion toward ending polio. The United States is the leading public sector donor to global polio eradication with a cumulative investment that totals $3 billion through fiscal 2017, thanks in large part to the leadership of Past RI President James L. Lacy and members of the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for the U.S. Their advocacy colleagues around the world have done remarkable work as well.
Meet three of the Rotarians putting polio on the global agenda:
Gianni Jandolo
Rotary club: Adda Lodigiano, Italy
Judith Diment
Rotary club: Maidenhead Thames, England
Marcelo Haick
Rotary club: Santos-Praia, Brazil Professional background: Physician specializing in occupational medicine
Click the link below to read the entire story and learn how the three individuals mentioned above have made a difference.
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