By Ryan Hyland

Rotary International President Jennifer Jones appeared on the main stage at the star-studded Global Citizen Festival on 24 September to highlight Rotary’s commitment to eradicating polio and announce an additional US$150 million pledge toward that end.

Jones, who spoke in front of 60,000 people in New York City and tens of thousands more online and on TV, noted the state of emergency that the governor of New York state recently declared to combat a resurgence of polio in the region.

Jones stressed that polio is preventable through vaccines and that wild poliovirus is endemic in only two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although female vaccinators are critical to building relationships with mothers and reaching children in these areas, they sometimes can face harassment or even attacks.

In Pakistan, "frontline female health workers put themselves at risk every day," Jones said. "They are committed, even with obstacles, to reaching every last child with polio vaccines." The vaccination program works with the local police and government to ensure the safety of these health workers.

Jones talked about the effect of polio vaccinations in some countries being disrupted by COVID-19. She pointed out that in 2021, about 25 million children went without critical immunizations. "The world has beaten back this disease significantly, but we must redouble efforts," Jones said.

The additional funding Jones announced will go to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which said in August that it was seeking new funding commitments for its 2022-26 polio eradication strategy. "We want this to be the start of a massive effort to reach the initiative's US$4.8 billion funding goal," Jones said.

By Ryan Hyland

A convoy of nearly 40 ambulances wound its way from Slovakia, around mountains and through roadblocks, military checkpoints, and torrential rain to arrive in Kyiv, bringing the critically needed vehicles to Ukrainian government officials.

A convoy of 40 ambulances wound its way from Slovakia, around mountains and through roadblocks, military checkpoints, and torrential rain to arrive in Kyiv, bringing the critically needed vehicles to Ukrainian government officials.

The US$600,000 initiative was the first joint project between Rotary and Ukraine Friends, which agreed in July to collaborate to provide resources, organize logistics, and distribute funds for high-impact projects that help Ukrainians affected by the war with Russia. Each organization donated US$300,000 to get the ambulances, and Rotary districts in Ukraine and Slovakia coordinated the delivery.

After a journey of about 870 kilometers (540 miles) that took more than twice as long as it would have in normal circumstances, the convoy arrived on 27 September at Mariinsky Park in Kiev.

Brock Bierman, the CEO of Ukraine Friends and a member of the Rotary Club of Staunton, Virginia, USA, says the logistics of moving that many vehicles to another country would always be difficult, and doing it across a border into a war zone was especially complex. Yet the ambulances were delivered without any major incidents.

“I don’t think the trip could’ve gone any better,” says Bierman, who was at Mariinsky Park for the arrival. “The way people worked together to get this done was spectacular.”