Although most of our members contribute to PolioPlus, we collect coins and cash in the fall for World Polio Day (falling on Oct. 24 this year) and in the spring for World Immunization Week. Last April, through our Pennies for Polio campaign, we filled a jar and raised $215. This fall, with our renewed Pennies for Polio campaign, we sought to beat that amount!Our credit union donated plastic piggy banks for members, and for the last four weeks, people have searched under couch cushions, emptied out the cup consoles in their cars, and cleaned out their wallets for polio eradication! At our weekly club meetings, we pooled the coinage in our large jar, and on Oct. 20, we took it to the bank for counting. Well, we blew past last spring's amount, bringing in $266 this time around. That's a lot of change!
That, together with prior donations, brings our club to about 75% of our annual goal for PolioPlus! And we know that we'll soon leapfrog right past that goal.
Rotary first became involved in polio eradication in 1979, when James Bomar Jr., then Rotary International president, administered drops of the oral polio vaccine to children in the Philippines. In 1985, the PolioPlus Fund was launched, making it the "first and largest internationally coordinated private-sector support of a public health initiative." Since then, Rotary and other partners have immunized more than 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries. As a Rotary webpage says, since 1988, "We have reduced polio cases by 99.9% worldwide and we won't stop until we end the disease for good."
Rotary continues to be a strong advocate for polio eradication. In September, Rotary International President Jennifer Jones announced an additional $150 million pledge toward that end.
And we're nearly there. In 2022 thus far, 27 wild polio cases have been reported globally, all in Pakistan (19), Afghanistan (2) and Mozambique (6). This is up from six cases globally last year. But cases of vaccine-derived cases of polio are falling. For this year to date, 379 cases have been reported in 17 countries, while we saw 689 cases in 22 countries in 2021 and 1,113 cases in 26 countries in 2020. That said, polio has been detected in sewage in the United Kingdom, and an unvaccinated man in the U.S. was paralyzed recently by a variant polio. This reemergence highlights the need to stay vigilant.
Although our Pennies for Polio campaign is over, it's never too late to learn more and spread the word about polio. And you're always welcome to donate. Every donation helps us obtain the support, transportation and materials needed in the fight against polio!