As Rotary International commemorates its 119th anniversary, the global humanitarian organisation may contemplate water sanitation for global environmental sustainability as its next global intervention following the eradication of poliomyelitis.
Rotary initiated its polio prevention and eradication efforts in 1985 across over 200 endemic countries but with only two remaining, it has set 2026 as the target for the final eradication of the poliovirus from the surface of the earth.
The governor of Rotary International, District 9125, Sagab Sani Ahmed, while addressing the media after the anniversary celebration in Abuja yesterday, said the organisation would persist in its global intervention even after polio is eradicated.
He said the structure established for polio eradication efforts would be maintained and not dismantled.
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Emphasising Rotary’s core mission of global impact, Ahmed emphasized, “Rotary has done enormous work in the world that has created a lot of impact. For instance, the Polio Eradication Initiative, which is a global intervention, from being a district to a global project whereby, the countries of the world, the United Nations and all its organs, and many other partners have joined.
“That’s a great global impact the Rotary has made apart from the impacts in the communities around the world, where Rotary has been intervening in terms of peace and conflict resolution, maternal and child health, water and sanitation, in the environment and several other facets that Rotary has focused on.
“Going forward, Rotary is continually looking into areas that it is going to intervene because in the cause of the Polio Eradication Initiative, especially that a great structure has evolved and partnerships have been formed with many organisations and countries of the world.
“So Rotary is looking forward to continue on other projects immediately the complete eradication of polio is achieved, which as of now has been slated for 2026.
