The volunteers' contribution to polio eradication.

The desire to help others in need could be considered to be a fundamental human quality. Yet, with so many suffering from the crushing effects of poverty, hunger, violence and disease, we may wonder if it is possible to make a difference at all. As a Nigerian lawyer, and President of Rotary International, I have solid proof that the answer to this is " yes ". Although they are not always seen, many people selflessly put aside life's daily demands to offer their time and compassion for those in need. For some, such personal philanthropy has become a lifelong passion. Never has the spirit of volunteerism been demonstrated more eloquently than in the global effort to eradicate polio. With its worldwide community-based network of business and professional leaders, Rotary is the volunteer arm of the global partnership dedicated to ending this crippling disease. For nearly 20 years, Rotary members have quietly worked in cooperation with national health ministries, WHO, UNICEF, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention among others, to immunize more than 2 billion children against polio in 122 countries. Why polio? During the first half of the 20th century, the disease paralysed half a million people a year. In the 1980s, Rotary International was looking for a common global task: protecting children from the cruel and sometimes fatal consequences of polio seemed a natural choice. Rotary's polio immunization efforts began in 1979, when it committed itself to a massive project that some said would be impossible: to provide the financial and human resources to immunize 6 million children against the disease in the Philippines. Inspired by the programme's success, Rotarians expanded their efforts, resolving to purchase enough vaccine to immunize the children of the world against polio in time for Rotary's 100th anniversary in 2005. By 1988, Rotary had raised more than US$ 247 million, doubling its original goal of US$ 120 million, through its PolioPlus programme. This programme, and Rotary's community-based leadership and volunteer support, provided the catalyst for the World Health Assembly's resolution in 1988 to eradicate polio. Since then, Rotary has committed more than US$ 500 million to the effort and, raised over US$ 80 million in 2003. Rotary has also provided volunteers to promote and assist with national immunization days in endemic countries around the world. Rotary members have helped with vaccine delivery, and squeezed countless drops of oral polio vaccine into …