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After their stunning fundraising success for the Polio Plus Campaign, Rotary has continued to lead the way in eradication of the disease. In a single day in April 1990, more than 5 million children in South America were vaccinated. At the same time, there were coordinated immunizations taking place in Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and India. In September of 1994, following the required three-year surveillance period, the Americas were declared polio-free. This signified that the goal of eradication of polio, rather than control, was feasible. The International Polio Plus Committee was created this same year and began lobbying Congress for increased polio immunization funding for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 1995 and 2010, the US Congress funding grew to $125 million. The effort was replicated in countries all around the globe, with the help of a brochure that Rotary created and printed in 13 languages for use in presentations in front of heads of state and legislators. In 2002, another fundraising campaign was launched, this time with a goal of $80 million. Again Rotarians exceeded their goal by contributing $135 million by the end of 2004.
In 2007, Bill Gates Sr. would address the International Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah and said "What has been achieved since Rotary International courageously committed to eradicate polio defies description. Polio cases have declined by 99.8 percent. Rotary gave us a whole new model for what private-public partnerships can achieve and how they best function. Rotary dramatically lifted our sights regarding the level of funding volunteers could deliver. They showed us what solid, sincere advocates could do to raise funds from governments... and engage heads of state in global health issues." In 2012, the Gates Foundation created a new fundraising match program for Rotary; it would match polio eradication contributions by two to one, up to $35 million a year, from 2013 to 2018. Under the campaign banner of "End Polio Now - Make History Today," Rotarians continue to give generously. On March 27, 2014 in India, the World Health Organization certified the entire Southeast Asia region as polio free. Because of Rotary's Polio Plus campaign, 2 billion children have been immunized and 500,000 new cases have been prevented each year.
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