October 24 is World Polio Day. It is a great time to join the PolioPLUS Society (PPS).
Originally started in our district by PDG Alexander Falk, PDG Joan Arsenault and PDG Ingrid Brown, the PPS now enters its fourth year in our district under the leadership of DG Pooja Singla and DRFC Anne Lewis, and we invite you all to join this year to help in our new PolioPlus Society Challenge that we have begun together with a dozen other districts in the Northeast.
What is the PolioPlus Society?
In an effort to increase sustainable giving, the PolioPlus Society was formed to encourage Rotarians to commit to a minimum of $100 per year to the PolioPlus Fund until polio is eradicated from the face of the earth. Society members receive a special PolioPlus Society pin and a certificate.
Joining the PolioPlus Society is just one way Rotarians can show their support for Rotary’s largest initiative.
How to join the PolioPlus Society:
Set up your donation:
- Go to my.rotary.org/donate and click on “PolioPlus Fund”. Sign up for automatic giving with a credit or debit card. $10 or more per month, or $100 or more per year, will qualify you for the PolioPlus Society.
- You can also donate through your club or the district. Contact your club foundation chair or your District PolioPlus Chair, Uchenna Onyeachom.
What is the PolioPlus Society Challenge:
More than a dozen districts have joined together during the 2025-26 Rotary year to increase membership in the PolioPlus Society, and ultimately eradicate Polio, once and for all! You can help by setting up your annual or monthly recurring Polio donation today. The district with the greatest percentage increase of PPS members in June 2026 will win a fancy banner and bragging rights! Better yet we will all know we did our part in saving the lives of children all over the world!
And remember, your donation is matched 2 to1 by the Gates Foundation to help us eradicate polio from the world.
Please help Rotarians reach every last child and achieve our vision of a polio free world!
No matter how you donate, you will also receive Paul Harris Credit and Major Donor Credit for your contributions.
Why do we still need to raise money for Polio?
Wild Polio Virus (WPF) is not eradicated. It is still endemic in difficult to manage areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which are virtually war zones. Furthermore, there are a dozen countries in Africa where vaccine-derived polio variant viruses (cVDPV's) are increasing because of vaccination density shortfalls. As of 2021, only 80% of one-year-olds worldwide have been vaccinated for polio. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), spearheaded by Rotary International, targets vaccinating 99% or more of every population group. When a vaccination campaign falls significantly below this target the opportunity for polio variants to spread is much larger. This is what is occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. As troubling, is the current situation in Gaza, where only a few years ago 99% of the target population was vaccinated, but through a combination of the pandemic impact and current hostilities, the success ratio has dropped dramatically. In recent weeks polio variant viruses have shown up in Gaza wastewater testing, sending a chilling message about a generation already burdened with catastrophic circumstances. The combined message is that we still have a polio crisis.
Reaching Our Targets
Ending polio in a cohort by meeting 99% vaccination targets require more than vaccine. Eradicating polio involves a vast logistics campaign moving health workers and their support system into challenging areas in remote, often impoverished parts of the world. These health teams depend upon a mobile infrastructure of food, shelter, medical equipment, information technology and transportation, all of which necessitates consistent funding.