Members of Cranberry Township’s Rotary Clubs are recognizing October 24 as World Polio Day.
At the end of the 1980s, more than 350,000 children were paralyzed by polio every year. But through the efforts of Rotary International and its partners, that number has been reduced by 99.9%.
Today, 20 million people who would otherwise be paralyzed by polio are walking, and 1.5 million people who would otherwise have died are alive. The global effort to eradicate polio has already saved more than $27 billion in health care costs since 1988 and expects to save $14 billion more by 2050.
Two countries continue to report polio cases: Afghanistan and Pakistan. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
Polio eradication will be one of history’s greatest public health achievements, with polio following smallpox to become only the second human disease eradicated from the world. Through Polio surveillance networks and vaccination campaigns, Rotary International aims to make this a reality.
To learn more, donate, or get involved, visit endpolio.org.