THE ROTARY Club of Maiden Erlegh (RME) announced it has donated more than £200,000 towards tackling polio since its inception in 1991.
Through fundraising activities and several members travelling abroad to help administer vaccinations, the club has made significant contributions to the cause. The Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation triple all Rotary donations.
In 1988, Rotary International launched its Global Eradication programme, and has since formed partnerships with organisations looking to overcome the issue. Back then, 350,000 children were left paralysed because of polio across 125 countries.
RME President, Richard Nicholson said: “We are proud that Rotary International started the initiative and it has been so successful. My Rotary supports the initiative each year and are delighted our Rotary has played a small part in its phenomenal success.”
Rotary has donated more than $2.1 billion to this project.
The only outbreaks of polio this year have been in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and these have been in low numbers. Africa is now free of polio.
