Spencer Trask & Co. will again join UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a sponsor of World Polio Day on Oct. 24, 2017. This is the fifth year of the event hosted by Rotary International. World Polio Day is an opportunity for the 33,000 Rotary clubs around the world to focus on the eradication of polio. Rotary has been […]

A new film coming out this week titled, “Breathe,” takes the audience on a journey inspired by producer Robin Cavendish’s father who contracted polio as a young man. The film illustrates the toll polio can take on a family. “We wanted it to be an entertaining film but above all, it’s very loyal to the […]

Helen Ryan, retired principal of Hilton Head Island High School, and Brian Julius of Hilton Head each have their own harrowing experiences of life with polio. Both are Rotarians focused on ridding the planet of the debilitating disease. In 1988, when Rotary International and the World Health Organization formed the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, there were […]

Spencer Trask & Co., a privately held advanced technology development company, today announced it will join UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a sponsor of the 2016 World Polio Day event hosted by Rotary International on October 24. This is the second year the company is sponsoring. World Polio day is an opportunity […]

From October 17 through 19, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the Ministry of Public Health have joined forces to conduct a massive polio immunization drive in Afghanistan. The nationwide effort focuses on immunizing children under the age of five. In addition, children ages two through five will receive de-worming tablets to help prevent […]

Rotary International and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have raised $99 million in the fight against polio in Nigeria, according to a Rotary district governor. The governor made the announcement to a group of journalists over the weekend, adding that the two organizations remain committed to tackling polio, especially after several cases were reported […]

Keira Cromwell doesn’t let her disability get in the way of achieving her dreams. The 10-year-old actress contracted polio while living in Vietnam. Today she resides in St. Louis, Missouri, with her family, and is active in the city’s theater community. Recently she was cast as Chip the teacup in the local production of “Beauty […]

One park in Middlesbrough, a town in northeastern England, is taking a unique approach when it comes to the battle against polio. Stewart Park has launched a campaign entitled Purple 4 Polio that will result in the planting of 5,000 purple crocuses in the park. Several elementary schools and members of the nonprofit Friends of […]

In West Africa’s Lake Chad, health officials have launched an ambitious drive to vaccinate 41 million children in the area. Approximately 39,000 health workers have been sent to neighboring areas, including Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon, to take on the mass endeavor, according to UNICEF. In addition to administering polio vaccinations, workers will be helping children […]

Global health officials agree that eradicating polio isn’t a “done deal.” In fact, in 1999 the world was on track to defeat polio in its entirety by 2000, but due to commercial concerns at the time, namely vaccination manufacturers decreasing production for fear that no one would buy it after 2000, polio remains a leading […]