Rotary, Sanofi Pasteur Ring Stock Exchange Bells in New York City and Across Europe in Support of Polio Eradication

EVANSTON, Illinois, February 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

On Feb. 23, Rotary International will join vaccine-producer Sanofi Pasteur to ring the trading bells at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and four NYSE Euronext exchanges to draw attention to the global campaign to eradicate the crippling disease polio.

Sanofi Pasteur plays a major role by supplying oral polio vaccine to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, of which Rotary is a spearheading partner, along with the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. Since 1988, the company has donated 120 million vaccine doses to immunize children in Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Southern Sudan.

The NYSE closing bell ceremony will begin at 3:40 p.m. EST with remarks by Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith and Sanofi Pasteur Vice-President of Global Immunization Policy Dr. Michael Watson. Later that evening, the NYSE exterior will be illuminated with Rotary's End Polio Now message.

NYSE Euronext ceremonies:

    
    - NYSE Euronext Amersterdam. Press contact Rineke Reitsma; 
      +31-(0)20-550-4110; rreitsma@nyx.com. Program begins at 8:30 a.m. CET.
    - NYSE Euronext Brussels. Press contact Anne De Gang,
      adegang@nyx.com. Program begins at 8:30 a.m. CET.
    - NYSE Euronext Paris. Press contact Caroline Tourrier,
      ctourrier@nyx.com. Program begins at 8:30 a.m. CET.
    - NYSE Euronext Lisbon. Press contact Sandra Machado, 
      +351-21-7900029, smachado@nyx.com. Program begins at 4:30 p.m. WET

Polio eradication is Rotary's top philanthropic goal. Rotary members to date have contributed more than US $1 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than two billion children in 122 countries. Rotary is now raising an additional $200 million in response to a $355 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Great progress has been made, and the incidence of polio has dropped by more than 99 percent. In 2010, fewer than 1,000 polio cases were reported worldwide, down from 350,000 cases annually in the late 1980s.

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 1.2 million Rotary members in 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.