This article below is one of the reasons I am proud to be a Rotarian – PP John Roberson

Rotary’s strength in local communities and experience fighting polio can help get people who are still vulnerable vaccinated against COVID-19, Nigeria PolioPlus Chair Dr. Tunji Funsho said at a global summit about the pandemic that brought together heads of state, health officials, and philanthropic leaders.

The virtual summit on 12 May, hosted by Belize, Germany, Indonesia, Senegal, and the United States, sought to build on the goals of the first summit in September, including vaccinating more people, distributing more tests and treatments to high-risk countries, expanding the number of public health workers, and increasing funding for pandemic preparedness.

At a session focused on getting vaccines to the most vulnerable, Funsho spoke about Rotary’s work in bringing polio to the brink of eradication and how the global immunization infrastructure can be used in the global COVID-19 response.

“Our local Rotary clubs can conduct social mobilization to communicate the benefits of immunizations and our person-to-person and door-to-door strategies can achieve extraordinary results when it comes to vaccine hesitancy,” Funsho told the summit participants. “We are currently applying these same tactics to Rotary’s COVID response in Nigeria and other African countries.”

Vaccinating the world against COVID-19 requires the same sustained effort and commitment Rotary has demonstrated for decades in fighting polio, Funsho said. “We are positioned and ready to join, in partnership with others, to bring these resources and talents to vaccinate the world against COVID-19.”