Rotary International has granted US$9.9 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Pakistan to support the vaccination of 27 million children in high-risk districts against polio. This funding strengthens the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative, which conducts regular nationwide and subnational campaigns reaching over 45 million children annually. The effort is coordinated with the Government of Pakistan and supported by multiple door-to-door immunization drives.
As a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Rotary has played a central role in the worldwide campaign to eradicate polio, alongside partners including WHO, UNICEF, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Gates Foundation, and Gavi. Since Pakistan’s national polio program began three decades ago, polio cases have dropped dramatically from 20,000 in 1994 to just 31 in 2025. Globally, GPEI has reduced polio cases by 99.9%, with wild poliovirus type 1 now endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Rotary’s contributions to polio eradication have totaled US$3 billion globally, with nearly US$500 million directed to Pakistan, alongside volunteer engagement and advocacy efforts. WHO Representative in Pakistan, Dr. Luo Dapeng, emphasized that Rotary’s support is critical to achieving a polio-free world and warned that global vigilance is necessary, citing the detection of wild poliovirus in Germany in 2025 as a reminder of the risks of inaction.
The new grant is part of a larger US$14.9 million funding package for Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts. It will be used in high-risk districts of Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab to cover campaign operations, including staffing, training, transportation, supplies for frontline workers, vaccine carriers, and other operational costs essential for effective immunization coverage.
