As of October 18th, Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are renewing their longstanding partnership to end polio, announcing a joint commitment of up to $450 million to support the global polio eradication effort. Rotary is committed to raising $50 million per year over the next three years, with every dollar to be matched with two additional dollars from the Gates Foundation

As we face multiple pandemics, rising vaccine hesitancy, recent outbreaks in Malawi and Mozambique, and detection of poliovirus in Israel, the UK, and the United States, it is more obvious than ever that if polio exists anywhere, it threatens children everywhere. The Gates Foundation pledge follows Rotary’s announcement at the Global Citizen Festival that it is pledging an additional $150 million towards polio eradication.