On Jan. 21, 2009, the Rotary International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the British and German governments committed more than $630 million in new funds to fight polio, a crippling and sometimes fatal disease that still paralyzes children in parts of Africa and Asia and threatens children everywhere. In addition to pledging needed funds, leaders urged additional donors and leaders of countries where polio still exists to join them in an aggressive push for eradication.

The Gates Foundation awarded a $255 million challenge grant to Rotary, which Rotary match with $100 million raised by its members over the next three years. At the same time, the United Kingdom gave an additional $150 million (£100 million) and Germany gave an additional $130 million (€100 million), both to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Contributions from the U.K. and Germany over the next five years did not count toward Rotary’s match of the Gates Foundation challenge grant.