Rotary International received $3.5 million from The Google Foundation, a non-profit managed by Google.org, in support of Rotary’s top philanthropic goal 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. India for long has been a Polio endemic country, spending almost 2000 crores every year on Polio eradication efforts.

The humanitarian volunteer service organization Rotary International, will raise funds to match The Google Foundation grant, dollar-for-dollar, over one year. The grant will directly support polio 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.

Tremendous progress has been made. To date, the number of polio cases has been reduced from 350,000 children annually in the mid 1980s to approximately 2,000 cases in 2006. In India as compared to 500 cases a day before the launch of the campaign in the nineties today there has been a significant decline in the number of cases with almost 35 states becoming Polio free except two States - U.P and Bihar. Progress in the two States in the last couple of years has been positive and overwhelming for the eradication Partners.

“Though much of the world has eradicated Polio, the disease is still crippling children in countries like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria – the four Polio endemic countries. The Polio battle in India today, is just short of the finishing line, and the much needed funds supported by Google.org will further boost the campaign in India and the world to eradicate Polio forever,” observed Deepak Kapur, Chairman India National PolioPlus Committee of Rotary International.

Polio eradication has been Rotary’s top priority since 1985. Since then, Rotary has contributed $650 million to the eradication effort, a figure which will rise to more than $850 million by the time the world is certified polio-free. “So far, Rotary’s contribution of US $ 74.3 million (312 crore) to India alone for fighting Polio has helped provide the operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment, social mobilization and educational materials for health workers and parents”, added Deepak Kapur.

“This grant comes at a crucial time for the initiative, as more funds are needed to reach children in the most challenging regions of the world,” said Wilfrid Wilkinson, President of Rotary International. “We have the technical tools to beat polio, and we’re almost there. All we need is for the rest of the world to follow The Google Foundation’s lead in supporting the effort to eradicate this vaccine preventable disease once and for all.”

Google.org is a hybrid philanthropy that uses a range of approaches to help advance solutions. They can operate in a traditional manner by supporting partners’ work with targeted grants. But they can also invest in for-profit endeavors or lobby for policies that support their philanthropic goals. Additionally, Google.org can tap the company’s innovative technology and, most importantly, its inspired workforce.

Recently in Partnership with The Bill Gates Foundation committed a whopping US $ 200 million contribution to the global Polio eradication efforts. The Government of India, which last year committed a fund of Rs.1290 crores is expected to boost the campaign with additional funds in the financial year 2008-2009.

Sourced From: Rotary