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Service Above Self
Side Meeting Room
Lander, WY 82520
United States of America

Rotary Responds to Potential U.S. Withdrawal from WHO
On January 23, 2025, Rotary International issued the following statement concerning the United States' announced intention to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Rotary notes the recent announcement that the United States intends to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), a partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). We remain resolute in our mission to eradicate polio. As a founding partner of the GPEI, Rotary has for decades worked closely with all the GPEI partners, the U.S. government, and other governments to end polio worldwide. This effort has reduced the number of children paralyzed by polio by 99.9% since 1988. The global effort to eradicate polio has innovated many times over the years to come close to protecting every last child.
Although this decision creates new challenges, Rotary remains dedicated to ensuring that every child is protected from this preventable disease. We are confident that the GPEI will continue to adapt, to innovate, and to implement effective strategies to keep polio vaccines available for every child in the United States and around the world, especially those in the most challenging and remote regions. The most important decisions leading to a polio-free world are made every day by parents who present their children for vaccination.
We remain committed to working with all GPEI partners to fulfill the promise of a polio-free world. Together, we have ended smallpox, and together, we can ensure that polio becomes the second human disease to be eradicated from the planet.

The total grant for the project is $123,096 and is being funded through donations from numerous Rotarians and non-Rotarians, Rotary Foundation funds from various Rotary Districts, Lander and other Rotary Clubs, and $30,000 from The Rotary Foundation. Its first week in Africa, the team visited Lusaka, Zambia, at the invitation of Zambian government officials, to discuss replicating the training project throughout Zambia. The Zambian officials were enthusiastic about developing the training program there.

Lander, Wyoming 82520
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Sam LightnerFebruary 15
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Bill AlleyFebruary 23
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Jim KniolaFebruary 25
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Lorrie PozarikFebruary 12
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Jim KniolaFebruary 25
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Lisa DawsonEric PerkinsFebruary 2