Morning Rotary Club donates $11,000 to eradicate Polio worldwide

The Cache Valley Morning Rotary Club raises money yearly to help eradicate polio from the world.

LOGAN – The Cache Valley Morning Rotary Club recently reported they have raised $11,000 to help eradicate polio from the world. Polio is the signature issue of Rotary Clubs and their partners have worked for over 35 years trying to eradicate the devastating effects of polio virus from the world.

The local group of Rotary members are part of a service organization with over a million members that have initiated their PolioPlus program. The program was the first initiative of the Rotary Club. Their goal was to eradicate polio by vaccinating children on a massive, global scale.

Like COVID, polio is a virus that spreads easily.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims in the 1940’s polio was infecting 35,000 people with 15,000 of those cases causing paralysis each year. It was once the most feared disease in the U.S. in the 1950’s before the vaccines were available. Since 1979 there were no cases of polio reported in the United States.

The CDC reported parents were frightened to let their children go outside, especially in the summer when the virus seemed to peek. Travel and commerce between affected cities were sometimes restricted.

Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. That year there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries every year.

“We’ve made great progress against the disease since then,” a Rotary release said. “Today, polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent, and just two global polio countries Afghanistan and Pakistan still to go. And we remain committed to the end.”

With polio nearly eradicated, Rotary and its partners must sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine. Without full funding and political commitment, this paralyzing disease could return to polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk. Rotary has committed to raising $50 million (USD) each year to support global polio eradication efforts.

Since 1985, Rotary has contributed more than $2.2 billion (USD) and countless volunteer hours vaccinating nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries.

Cache Valley Morning Rotary began in 2006 and continues to contribute to the polio eradication. CVM Rotary continues to try and make a difference in the community and the world.

For more than 115 years, Rotary’s people have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to improve lives of people through service.

From promoting literacy and peace to providing clean water and improving health care, Rotary members are always trying to improve the world.

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