Today (24 October) is World Polio Day
See previous post about crocus planting - but read on here to find more about progress to eradicating this terrible disease.
Rotary in Banbury comes together for World Polio Day: 24 October 2026
The Rotary Club of marked historic progress towards a polio-free world this year with the crocus planting in the previous post to mark World Polio Day and the worldwide efforts to eradicate the paralysing disease once and for all.
Thousands of Rotary events are taking place across the globe to mark World Polio Day, which is officially on 24th October 2026, to raise awareness and vital funds towards efforts to rid the world of polio, which is a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens children in some parts of the world today.
We have never been closer to making history by fulfilling Rotary’s goal of a polio-free world with just 48 cases of wild poliovirus worldwide so far this year in Afghanistan (42)and Pakistan (6.)
To mark World Polio Day more widely across Great Britain and Ireland this Autumn, there are three highly visible ways that Rotary members are supporting the effort to end polio;
- Planting purple crocuses,
- Walk a Mile for Polio,
- Shining a Light on Polio by illuminating a local landmark in purple.
The colour purple is globally associated with polio as it is the colour of the dye placed on the little finger, on the left hand of a child to show they have been immunised against polio. With millions of children to vaccinate, this makes it easier to see who has been protected and who has not.
Since Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative nearly 40 years ago, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9%, from about 350,000 cases a year in 125 countries, to just 52 cases recorded in 2025, in two remaining polio-endemic countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
To sustain this progress and protect all children from polio, Rotary has committed to raising US$50 million per year over the next three years in support of global polio eradication efforts.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match Rotary’s commitment 2:1, which means that every £1donated will become £3. Without full funding and political commitment, this paralysing disease could return to previously polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk.
We're 99.9% there but until it's totally gone there remains a risk to us all of further epidemics paralysing or killing children
Rotary has already contributed more than US$3 billion towards ending polio since 1985. Despite there only being a handful of cases left in the world, continued campaigning, health worker training and vaccination programmes are essential to stop the disease returning and ensuring the world is certified polio-free.
For more information visit www.endpolio.org