Accepting the award presented by Past Rotary International President Mark Daniel Maloney, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on 23 November, "My profound gratitude to Rotary. Through me, you are also recognizing the United Nations and our efforts to build a healthier, safer, and more peaceful world."
Receiving the award on behalf of the WHO on 25 February, Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Rotary is a vital partner for WHO, and our partnership has brought us to the threshold of an historic achievement over polio."
Rotary, WHO, and UNICEF, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. Since then, nearly 3 billion children have been immunized against polio in 122 countries, and polio cases have been reduced 99.9 percent worldwide –including the recent certification of the African region as free of the wild poliovirus. This public-private partnership also includes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. "Our progress toward ending polio demonstrates the positive impact we can have when we work together," said Maloney.