Polio programme a Rotary project

ON September 25, the Irish Examiner ran an article by Ian O’Sullivan titled: “Samantha kicks off battle against polio.”

The polio eradication programme which Mr O’Sullivan attributes to UNICEF is actually a project of Rotary International. Rotary opened their attack on polio in 1979 with a five-year plan to eliminate the disease in the Philippines.

This went well so the next year they developed similar plans in five other countries. That also proceeded well and in 1985, Rotary took on the huge challenge to end polio in the world by the time of their centennial in 2005.