Polio All Transit Day observed

Rotarians around Auckland took part in a Polio All Transit Day, which raises awareness for the End Polio Now Campaign. This is the third year that Rotarians have flooded the Auckland city rail and ferry network with a sea of red polio shirts. The day was observed on Friday November 11

Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson and Act Deputy Leader Brook van Valden sent the Rotarian riders off from the Britomart Station at 8am, where they welcomed more Rotarian riders as their journey along the network continued.  Camaraderie and networking with a purpose came together with contagious energy as the riders met old and new friends along the way.

Members of the public were intrigued, interested to learn more from our riders and often inspired to donate along the way. “We are grateful to all who joined in the fun with a special mention to the team of 10 who rode the trains for a full eight-and-a-half hours,” said an organiser.

The End Polio Now campaign started in 1988 when there were 350,000 polio cases reported around the world. Today, 34 years on, the Wild Polio virus is only found in two countries; Pakistan and Afghanistan, with a combined total of 41 cases to date in 2022. 

Every dollar donated through Rotary Clubs/Rotarians/members of the public attracts $2 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Every year The Rotary Foundation has a goal of $50 million USD and when we attain this amount the Gates Foundation match it with another $1 million USD.  This $150 million USD then with the assistance of our partner UNICEF assists with the vaccinating of 450,000 children every year.

As the Covid pandemic recedes, everyone is more aware of how quickly a pandemic can spread.   The last polio pandemic was in the 1950s and those of us who are old enough to remember will recall that back then schools were closed, and people encouraged to stay home to avoid contact.

A polio outbreak is only a flight away.

Since 1985, Rotary’s key humanitarian priority has been to rid world of polio

Rotary spearheaded the campaign at a time when there were over 1,000 polio cases a day in 125 countries, paralysing and even killing children. Today, the number of cases is down by 99.9%.

Over the past 35 years, Rotary members, working with communities around the world, have contributed more than US$2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to the fight to end polio.

Inspired in part by Rotary’s volunteer commitment and fundraising success, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was launched in 1988.

This remarkable partnership which includes Rotary, World Health Organization, UNICEF, the US Center for Disease Control & Prevention and, more recently, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and GAVI the Vaccine Alliance. These organisations work alongside governments of the world to end polio.

Because of the efforts of Rotary and our partners, nearly 19 million people who would otherwise have been paralysed are walking, and more than 1.5 million people are alive who would otherwise have died.

Despite there only being a handful of cases left in the world, continued campaigning, health worker training and vaccination programmes are

essential to stop the disease returning and ensuring the world is certified polio-free. Over 400 million children still have to receive their polio vaccinations by the GPEI partners multiple times every single year in more than 50 countries.

Rotary members continue to be key players in many aspects of the polio programme including on the ground in a number of countries as well as fundraising and advocacy.

Failure to eradicate polio could result in as many as 200,000 new cases worldwide every year within a decade.

To date there are only two countries endemic with polio and they are Afghanistan and Pakistan with 22 reported cases of Wild Polio.  From 350,000 in 1988 when the programme started to 22 in 2022.