the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged US$255 million to help underwrite Rotary’s commitment to eradicate polio – the largest grant Rotary has ever received. That amount came in addition to the $100 million Gates Foundation challenge grant awarded in November 2007, which Rotary pledged to match dollar for dollar. In response to the new grant, Rotary committed to raising an additional $100 million by 30 June 2012. The total matching effort is called Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge.
Gates made the announcement during an enthusiastically received surprise appearance at the International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA.
Assembly participants also learned that the governments of the United Kingdom and Germany had committed a combined $280 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Though that amount won’t count toward Rotary’s challenge, it will target the four countries where polio still rages: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Gates visited India in November and Nigeria in February.
Shortly after the announcement of the new grant, Gates sat down for a conversation with The Rotarian magazine. Below are a few excerpts. See the full interview in the May issue of The Rotarian.
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