Why End Polio?
Top 5 Reasons to End Polio Now
We are closer than ever to eradicating the wild poliovirus, with endemic transmission restricted to a handful of areas in just two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan. Let us all recommit now, and achieve Rotary’s dream of a world free of this debilitating disease. By working together, we can give the world one less infectious disease to worry about once and for all.
Aidan O'Leary, Director of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, World Health Organization
To Improve Lives
18 million people are walking today who would have otherwise been paralyzed by polio.
To Invest in the Future
If polio isn't eradicated, within 10 years, as many as 200,000 children could be paralyzed by it each year.
What You Don’t Know About the Campaign to End Polio
There is more to eradicating a disease than just immunizing children.
To Improve Child Health
Polio surveillance networks and vaccination campaigns also monitor children for other health problems like vitamin deficiency and measles, so they can be addressed sooner.
To Save Money
A polio-free world will save the global economy
$40-$50 billion in health costs within the next 20 years.
The Importance of Surveillance
Surveillance is one of the most important jobs done to eradicate polio. And today, new and innovative approaches are being used to find viruses before they even cause symptoms.
To Make History
Polio eradication would be one of history's greatest public health achievements, with polio following smallpox to become only the second human disease eliminated from the world.
