CONGRESS PASSES POLIO RESOLUTION
Whereas, the eradication of polio is the highest priority of Rotary International, a global association founded in 1905, in Chicago, Illinois, that is now headquartered in Evanston,
Illinois, and has more than 1,200,000 members in more than 170 countries;
Whereas Rotary International and its members (commonly known as ‘‘Rotarians’’) have contributed more than
$1,000,000,000 to, and volunteered countless hours in the global fight against polio;
WhereasRotary International, the World Health Organization, the United States Government, the United Nations Children’s Fund (commonly known as ‘‘UNICEF’’), the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations Foundation have joined together with national governments to successfully reduce cases of polio by more
than 99 percent since 1988, from more than 350,000 reported
cases in 1988 to 223 reported cases in 2012;Whereas polio was recently eliminated in India and is now endemic
only in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan