Rotary International and Gates Foundation Together Commit $200 million to Eradicate Polio

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Rotary International today announced a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will inject a much-needed $200 million into the global campaign to eradicate polio, a crippling and sometimes fatal disease that still paralyzes children in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East and threatens children everywhere.

The Rotary Foundation has received a $100 million Gates Foundation grant, which Rotary will raise funds to match, dollar-for-dollar, over three years. The Evanston-based volunteer service organization will spend the initial $100 million within one year in direct support of immunization activities carried out by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a partnership spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF.

To read the full press release, visit the Rotary International Web site.