Canadian Government provides $40m for Polio Eradication

We are delighted in the good news announced that Canada has released $40 million in funding to support polio eradication activities in Pakistan. You can see the press release in English here: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1046019

and in French here:  http://nouvelles.gc.ca/web/article-fr.do?nid=1046019

 

This funding is from the existing commitment of C$250 million which was made at the 2013 vaccine summit. It’s worth noting that while this commitment was made through 2018, Canada has fulfilled the vast majority of this commitment well ahead of schedule.

 

Dr. Bob Scott, the Past Chair of The Rotary Foundation as well as the Rotary International PolioPlus Chair, was delighted to share this news of Canada's latest contribution of C$40 million to Pakistan’s polio eradication program.  He has traveled often to polio-endemic countries, and now that group is down to just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.Dr. Scott, a member of the Rotary Club of Cobourg, Ontario said that Canada’s funds will help the World Health Organization and UNICEF to interrupt the transmission of polio in Pakistan and its neighbour this year. “If this is achieved, we will be one huge leap closer to polio’s endgame,” he added.  A photo of Dr. Scott administering the polio vaccine to a child in Pakistan is below.

 

There’s also a nice blog post by Bob Scott on the End Polio Now website to highlight the importance of this funding: http://on.rotary.org/1RUqpK6