Counting Down To World Polio Day 2023

Posted on Oct 17, 2023
 
We’re in the final countdown to World Polio Day!
 
Many Rotarians will be familiar with the late Stephen R. Covey, the influential author and speaker and one of the world’s foremost authorities on leadership. In his seminal work, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", he pointed out that one of the habits of successful people and organizations was that they “Begin with the End in Mind”.

When you begin with the end in mind, you set yourself up for success. There’s no better way to identify what you actually want, why it’s important to you, and how to get it. Successful Rotary Clubs “begin with the end in mind” by setting annual goals and then working to achieve them. However, at the time of writing only 181 of the 1,251 clubs in our zone have documented their Polio Plus fund raising goals.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, of which Rotary International is a member, currently has two goals:

Goal One: To permanently interrupt the transmission of all polioviruses in Afghanistan and Pakistan by end of 2023 and for those countries to be certified polio free by the end of 2026.

Goal Two: To stop transmission of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 by the end of 2023 and to prevent outbreaks in polio-free regions.

With declining cases of wild polio virus in the two endemic countries and the introduction of the new oral polio vaccine (nOPV2) to combat vaccine derived polio, it is possible that these goals may still be achieved. However, over the next few years it will cost an estimated $4.6 billion dollars to do so.

Rotary International has committed $150 million per year to help the GPEI achieve these goals with $50 million coming from district, club and private fundraising efforts matched by $100 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

To raise $50 million per year is quite a challenge for us but it can be done if every district and club sets goals and plans accordingly. Here are some suggestions:

Club Goals

  • Set PolioPlus fundraising target for the year (RI recommends $1,500 per club)
  • Encourage members to join the PolioPlus Society. ($100 per year)
  • Encourage friends, family, work colleagues to donate to Rotary’s PolioPlus Fund. Donate to End Polio | End Polio
  • Dedicate a club meeting to World Polio Day with a guest speaker.
  • Promote your polio eradication activities on your club website and social media.
  • Participate in a district fundraising events such as train rides, walks, cycling events.

Setting goals such as these, and working towards achieving them, will go a long way to helping Rotary reach the historic goal of a polio free world.

Start Planning How Your Club Will Celebrate

There are excellent resources available for download on the End Polio website. There you can register your events, discover fact-checked social media messages, and choose from suggested activities for awareness-raising or fundraising.
 
The World Polio Day Resources webpage is full of content you can share to help raise awareness.

As examples, here are some ideas for promoting the cause on World Polio Day:

  • Preparing media releases using RI materials from endpolio.org 

  • Inviting the media to Rotary events in public places celebrating World Polio Day

  • Pull up banners and teardrop banners carrying the End Polio message

  • Sales of red socks and Christmas puddings with profits to End Polio

  • Library displays about Rotary's role in eradicating polio

  • A cocktail party with distinguished guests

  • Using Canva to design graphics to promote your local events for World Polio Day

  • Arranging public places such as buildings, bridges or fountains to be lit in red

  • Hashtags on your social media posts #worldpolioday #endpolio #togetherwesavelives

  • Set up a Raise for Rotary page to gather donations for your World Polio Day campaign.
Be sure to visit Rotary’s accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, now known as X on 24 October for even more World Polio Day content.

Make Polio History Campaign

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has launched its “Make Polio History” campaign!
 
Learn why people around the world believe we can end polio for good and ask donors, governments, and other global leaders to seize the opportunity to create a polio-free world.

5 Actions You Can Take To Support #EndPolio

  1. Register your club’s World Polio Day action by 24 October.
  2. Share the “Make Polio History” video on your social media.
  3. Visit the World Polio Day Resources webpage and find content you can share.
  4. Pitch a story about World Polio Day and your club’s contributions to eradicating polio to a local media outlet.
  5. Learn about the two vaccines used to stop polio transmission — inactivated polio vaccine and oral polio vaccine.

Resources For Polio Awareness And Fundraising

 
Join the Rotary global family on 24 October – Together, we can end polio!