Polio eradication has been Rotary's top priority for more than two decades. The international humanitarian service organization is a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, along with the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. Rotary club members worldwide have contributed more than $1.2 billion and countless volunteer hours to the polio eradication effort.

Great progress has been made, and the incidence of polio infection has plunged from about 350,000 cases in 1988 to 222 reported cases in 2012. More than two billion children have been immunized in 122 countries, preventing five million cases of paralysis and 250,000 pediatric deaths.