2002 Annual Report - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

P R O G R A M S
G lobal Health
Somalia, armed guards protected international vaccination workers during continuing
conflict. In 2001, several such workers were held captive for several
days following a clash during a vaccination effort.
Rotary’s commitment to global health advancement—and especially its
efforts to eradicate polio—earned the organization the 2002 Gates Award for
Global Health. As the 2005 target date approaches, the global initiative enjoys
hard-won but spectacular success, achieving a 99-percent reduction in worldwide
cases since 1988. At the end of 2002, only seven countries reported incidents
of polio.
India is one of the last bastions for polio; 85 percent of new infections occur
there. In January 2002, Rotarians helped organize a National Immunization
Day (NID) across the country. NIDs involve massive effort—with massive
results. On that single day, 150 million children visited 30,000 immunization
posts. During India’s effort, 6,000 children received a dose of polio vaccine
every single second. Trains were stopped so that every child on board could
receive two drops of oral vaccine through its open windows.
Just as Rotary members scoured the trains that day, they will continue
every day until all children are free from risk.
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