Il Rotary International e la Fondazione Gates si impegnano a donare 200 milioni di dollari per sconfiggere la polio.EVANSTON (Usa) (26 novembre 2007) – Il Rotary International ha annunciato oggi un accordo di partenariato con la Fondazione Bill & Melinda Gates, grazie al quale le due organizzazioni si impegneranno a donare insieme 200 milioni di dollari alla campagna contro la polio. Questa malattia debilitante e spesso mortale continua a mietere vittime in alcune regioni dell'Africa, dell’Asia e del Medio Oriente, minacciando di estendersi ad altri Paesi.
La Fondazione Gates ha versato una sovvenzione paritaria di 100 milioni di dollari alla Fondazione Rotary, che a sua volta si è impegnata a raccogliere la stessa somma nei prossimi tre anni. La somma iniziale di 100 milioni di dollari sarà versata dalla Fondazione Rotary entro il prossimo anno per sostenere direttamente le attività di vaccinazione promosse dalla GPEI (Global Polio Eradication Initiative) – un'iniziativa internazionale patrocinata da OMS, Rotary International, Centri statunitensi per la prevenzione e il controllo delle malattie e UNICEF.
“La straordinaria dedizione dei Rotariani ha contribuito in modo sostanziale a portare la polio verso l'eradicazione” ha spiegato Bill Gates, co-presidente della Fondazione che porta il nome suo e di sua moglie. “L’eradicazione della poliomielite rappresenterà uno dei successi più significativi nella storia della medicina e noi abbiamo assunto l'impegno di contribuire al raggiungimento di questo obiettivo.”
Questa sovvenzione paritaria è la maggiore di questo tipo donata dalla Fondazione Gates, e la maggiore ricevuta dal Rotary nei suoi 102 anni di vita. Dal 1985, anno in cui è iniziato l'impegno globale del Rotary nella campagna di eradicazione della polio, i Rotariani hanno donato a questo scopo 633 milioni di dollari.
“I Rotariani di tutto il mondo si sono dati da fare nel corso degli anni per raggiungere questo punto, ed è gratificante vedere che i nostri sforzi sono stati riconosciuti in un modo così significativo dalla Fondazione Bill & Melinda Gates” ha spiegato il Dr. Robert Scott, presidente del consiglio di amministrazione della Fondazione Rotary–il braccio operativo del Rotary International che si occuperà di somministrare la sovvenzione. “Ci auguriamo che questo impegno comune del Rotary e della Fondazione Gates possa essere di esortazione ad altri donatori: fondazioni, stati e organizzazioni non governative, che ci aiutino con le risorse necessarie a sconfiggere la polio una volta per sempre.”
La sovvenzione della Fondazione Gates arriva in un periodo estremamente difficile per l’iniziativa, che ha disperatamente bisogno di fondi per poter raggiungere l’obiettivo. Sebbene la GPEI sia riuscita a ridurre del 99 percento i casi di polio negli ultimi vent'anni, il poliovirus selvaggio continua a essere presente in quattro Paesi: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria e Pakistan. Questi ultimi casi sono i più difficili da prevenire a causa di complessi fattori tra cui l’isolamento geografico, l'esaurimento dei volontari, la difficoltà di diffondere il vaccino, i conflitti armati e le barriere culturali.
I dati rilasciati lo scorso mese dall’OMS hanno confermato i notevoli progressi realizzati nei quattro Paesi in cui la polio è ancora endemica, in particolare India e Nigeria, in cui si conta l'85 percento dei casi di polio. I casi rilevati in Nigeria quest'anno sono 226 rispetto ai 958 casi dello scorso anno. In entrambi i Paesi il vaccino orale ha contribuito a ridurre drammaticamente i casi di polio.
La Dr. Margaret Chan, direttore generale dell’OMS, ha dichiarato che il dono della Fondazione Gates è una conferma della fattibilità dell’eradicazione. “Questo investimento è l’agente catalizzatore di cui avevamo bisogno nell’ultimo slancio verso l’eradicazione della polio. Abbiamo gli strumenti tecnici per realizzare questo obiettivo e potremo liberare il mondo dalla polio se anche gli altri nostri sostenitori si faranno avanti accettando la sfida.”
La maggior parte della somma iniziale di 100 milioni sarà devoluta a favore delle iniziative di immunizzazione di massa nei Paesi in cui la polio è ancora presente, nonché per attività di sorveglianza, informazione e volontariato. La sovvenzione sosterrà anche la ricerca volta a trovare i modi più efficaci per arrestare la diffusione del poliovirus. Il Rotary distribuirà i fondi sottoforma di sovvenzioni all'OMS e all'UNICEF.
“I fondi donati dalla Fondazione Gate aiuteranno a intensificare le iniziative della GPEI per distribuire il vaccino nelle località isolate” ha spiegato il direttore esecutivo dell’UNICEF, Ann M. Veneman. “Questo importante contributo migliorerà la capacità di proteggere i bambini, la fascia di popolazione più vulnerabile a questa malattia debilitante.”
La Dr. Julie Gerberding, direttore generale dei Centri statunitensi per la prevenzione e il controllo delle malattie, ha affermato che la collaborazione tra il Rotary e la Fondazione Gates conferma l’importanza del settore privato nelle maggiori iniziative di salute pubblica. "Come agenzia governativa, riteniamo straordinario il ruolo assunto dai nostri colleghi del settore privato in una campagna imponente come quella dell'eradicazione della polio. Il loro contributo è fondamentale.”
Il Rotary International, fondato a Chicago nel 1905, è un’organizzazione di professionisti e uomini e donne d’affari che collaborano a livello mondiale per fornire aiuti umanitari e contribuire alla diffusione della buona volontà e della comprensione internazionale. Conta su circa 1,2 milioni di soci e 32.000 club in oltre 200 Paesi e aree geografiche.
EVANSTON, Ill., U.S.A. (Nov. 26, 2007) -- Rotary International today announced a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will inject a much-needed US$200 million into the global campaign to eradicate polio, a crippling and sometimes fatal disease that still paralyzes children in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East and threatens children everywhere.
The Rotary Foundation has received a $100-million Gates Foundation grant, which Rotary will raise funds to match, dollar-for-dollar, over three years. The Evanston-based volunteer service organization will spend the initial $100 million within one year in direct support of immunization activities carried out by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a partnership spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF.
"The extraordinary dedication of Rotary members has played a critical role in bringing polio to the brink of eradication," says Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "Eradicating polio will be one of the most significant public health accomplishments in history, and we are committed to helping reach that goal."
The polio eradication grant is one of the largest challenge grants ever given by the Gates Foundation and the largest grant received by Rotary in its 102-year history. Polio eradication has been Rotary’s top priority since 1985. Since then, Rotary has contributed $633 million to the eradication effort.
"Rotary members worldwide have worked very hard over the years to reach this point, and it is rewarding to see our approach validated in such a significant way by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," says Dr. Robert Scott, who leads Rotary’s polio eradication effort and chairs The Rotary Foundation, the not-for-profit charitable arm of Rotary that will administer the grant. "We hope that this shared commitment of Rotary and the Gates Foundation will challenge other donors – including foundations, governments and non-governmental organizations – to step up and make sure we have the resources needed to rid the world of polio once and for all."
Adds Rotary International President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson: "This endorsement of Rotary's polio eradication efforts by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is just the catalyst and challenge Rotary members need to keep our promise to the children of the world that polio will be eradicated."
The Gates Foundation grant comes at a crucial juncture for the initiative, which urgently needs an infusion of funds to reach the eradication goal. Although the GPEI has succeeded in slashing the number of polio cases by 99 percent over the past two decades, the wild poliovirus still persists in four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. The polio cases represented by that final one percent are the most costly to prevent due to such factors as geographical isolation, worker fatigue, low coverage with the vaccine, armed conflict and cultural barriers.
Last month, WHO released data confirming that all four remaining polio-endemic countries are on track to achieve eradication. In particular, significant progress has been made in India and Nigeria, which together account for 85 percent of the world’s polio cases. Nigeria has reported 226 cases so far this year, compared with 958 at the same time last year. In both countries, more effective oral polio vaccines have contributed to steady progress in reducing polio cases.
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan says the Gates Foundation grant reaffirms that polio eradication is both feasible and achievable. "This investment is precisely the catalyst we need as we intensify the push to finish polio," said Chan. "We have the technical tools to do it, and we can achieve a polio-free world if the rest of our financial partners step up to meet the challenge."
Most of the initial $100 million will be spent in support of mass immunization campaigns in polio-affected countries, poliovirus surveillance activities and community education and outreach. The grant will also support an expanded research agenda on ways to halt the spread of the poliovirus. Rotary will distribute the funds through grants to WHO and UNICEF.
"The funds made possible through the Gates Foundation grant will help the Global Polio Eradication Initiative scale up its efforts to provide oral polio vaccine to children in those isolated locations where it’s most needed," says UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. "This important contribution will improve the capacity to protect vulnerable children from this debilitating disease."
CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding says the collaboration between Rotary and the Gates Foundation underscores the importance of private sector involvement in major public health efforts. "As a government agency, we think it’s wonderful that our private-sector colleagues have taken a leadership role in something as important as polio eradication. Their participation is absolutely critical."
Founded in Chicago in 1905, Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary’s global membership is approximately 1.2 million men and women who belong to more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.
The Rotary Foundation has received a $100-million Gates Foundation grant, which Rotary will raise funds to match, dollar-for-dollar, over three years. The Evanston-based volunteer service organization will spend the initial $100 million within one year in direct support of immunization activities carried out by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a partnership spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF.
"The extraordinary dedication of Rotary members has played a critical role in bringing polio to the brink of eradication," says Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "Eradicating polio will be one of the most significant public health accomplishments in history, and we are committed to helping reach that goal."
The polio eradication grant is one of the largest challenge grants ever given by the Gates Foundation and the largest grant received by Rotary in its 102-year history. Polio eradication has been Rotary’s top priority since 1985. Since then, Rotary has contributed $633 million to the eradication effort.
"Rotary members worldwide have worked very hard over the years to reach this point, and it is rewarding to see our approach validated in such a significant way by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," says Dr. Robert Scott, who leads Rotary’s polio eradication effort and chairs The Rotary Foundation, the not-for-profit charitable arm of Rotary that will administer the grant. "We hope that this shared commitment of Rotary and the Gates Foundation will challenge other donors – including foundations, governments and non-governmental organizations – to step up and make sure we have the resources needed to rid the world of polio once and for all."
Adds Rotary International President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson: "This endorsement of Rotary's polio eradication efforts by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is just the catalyst and challenge Rotary members need to keep our promise to the children of the world that polio will be eradicated."
The Gates Foundation grant comes at a crucial juncture for the initiative, which urgently needs an infusion of funds to reach the eradication goal. Although the GPEI has succeeded in slashing the number of polio cases by 99 percent over the past two decades, the wild poliovirus still persists in four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. The polio cases represented by that final one percent are the most costly to prevent due to such factors as geographical isolation, worker fatigue, low coverage with the vaccine, armed conflict and cultural barriers.
Last month, WHO released data confirming that all four remaining polio-endemic countries are on track to achieve eradication. In particular, significant progress has been made in India and Nigeria, which together account for 85 percent of the world’s polio cases. Nigeria has reported 226 cases so far this year, compared with 958 at the same time last year. In both countries, more effective oral polio vaccines have contributed to steady progress in reducing polio cases.
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan says the Gates Foundation grant reaffirms that polio eradication is both feasible and achievable. "This investment is precisely the catalyst we need as we intensify the push to finish polio," said Chan. "We have the technical tools to do it, and we can achieve a polio-free world if the rest of our financial partners step up to meet the challenge."
Most of the initial $100 million will be spent in support of mass immunization campaigns in polio-affected countries, poliovirus surveillance activities and community education and outreach. The grant will also support an expanded research agenda on ways to halt the spread of the poliovirus. Rotary will distribute the funds through grants to WHO and UNICEF.
"The funds made possible through the Gates Foundation grant will help the Global Polio Eradication Initiative scale up its efforts to provide oral polio vaccine to children in those isolated locations where it’s most needed," says UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. "This important contribution will improve the capacity to protect vulnerable children from this debilitating disease."
CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding says the collaboration between Rotary and the Gates Foundation underscores the importance of private sector involvement in major public health efforts. "As a government agency, we think it’s wonderful that our private-sector colleagues have taken a leadership role in something as important as polio eradication. Their participation is absolutely critical."
Founded in Chicago in 1905, Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary’s global membership is approximately 1.2 million men and women who belong to more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.
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