sports stars rally to end polio now
story by: dave king
Riding on the crest of the wave of a glorious summer of sport, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has launched Team End Polio a new campaign to unite sports fans everywhere around a common goal: to end polio for good.
Capitalising on the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, along with football’s European Championships, the British Open Golf, Wimbledon and a summer of Test cricket, GPEI is using sport as a vehicle to promote the cause of polio to a wider population.
Using social media, the aim is for Team End Polio to bring together a world-class roster of athletes, global leaders, and advocates to raise awareness for polio eradication online and on the field.
Working together over the past three decades, the GPEI and countries around the world have made huge strides against polio—from driving cases down by 99.9% over the last four decades to preventing over 20 million cases of paralysis.
Now, with ongoing support from donors and affected countries, they are hoping this sporting initiative will help the final push to eradicate the disease for good.
Team End Polio’s starting line-up includes athletes from across sports and countries, including some of the most celebrated names in recent sports history:
“using social media, the aim for team end polio is to bring together a world-class roster of athletes to raise awareness for polio eradication.”
- Ade Adepitan is a Nigerian-born British television presenter and wheelchair basketball player. As an infant he contracted polio, which caused damage to his legs that required him to use a wheelchair. At the age of three, he moved with his family to the United Kingdom, where he grew up in East London. Becoming a wheelchair basketball player, he was part of the British team that played at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, securing a bronze medal. In 2005, he was made an MBE for services to disability sport. As a presenter, he has hosted a range of travel documentaries and sports programmes for BBC television. He is a polio ambassador for Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland.
- Ajara Nchout is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Saudi club Al Qadsiah and the Cameroon women’s national team. She has competed in two Women’s FIFA World Cups and represented her country at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
- Anne Wafula Strike is a British Paralympic wheelchair racer and a polio survivor. She was born in Kenya and contracted polio at the age of two. Arriving in the UK in 2000, she was introduced to wheelchair racing in 2002 and in 2004 became the first Kenyan wheelchair racer to represent her country, competing at the Paralympics in Athens. She was awarded an MBE in 2014 for services to disability sport and charity. She is a polio ambassador for Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland.
- Bismah Maroof is a former captain of the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Team. She made her cricket debut at the age of 15 and played for Pakistan for over a decade and a half. Bismah is the all-time leading run scorer for her country in One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals. Bismah was named Pakistan’s T20 captain in 2016 and ODI captain in 2017 and has represented Pakistan in several World Cups across formats.
- Junior Bosila Banya is a dancer, choreographer, and comedian, considered to be one of the world’s best breakdancers of the past 20 years. A polio survivor and former winner of France’s Got Talent, Junior uses his platform to elevate issues from immunisation to healthy masculinity.
Former Chelsea footballer, Michael Essien, and Paralympian, Anne Wafula Strike, head up the list of sports stars who have joined Team End Polio
- Michael Essien, is a legendary former footballer with Chelsea and Ghana where he was capped more than 50 times. Today, Michael is a coach and vocal advocate for immunisation and polio eradication worldwide.
- Minda Dentler is a polio survivor and the first woman wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. She is an outspoken advocate and author, channelling her energy to empower children and adults to achieve their goals no matter the challenges.
- Muhammad Ali is a Test cricketer who made his debut for Pakistan in 2022 against England in Rawalpindi. He has played two Tests for Pakistan and is a regular member of the Pakistan Shaheens. Muhammad was instrumental in Multan Sultans’ journey to the final as he took most wickets for a fast bowler in the Pakistan Super League 2024.
- Ramesh Ferris is a Rotary member, international immunisation advocate, and polio survivor. As part of his efforts to raise awareness about the need to end polio, Ramesh hand-cycled 7,140 kilometres across Canada. Ramesh is an author and speaker, envisioning a polio-free future for children everywhere.
- Wasim Akram is a former captain of Pakistan’s cricket team and now a TV commentator. Known as the ‘Sultan of Swing’, Wasim is recognised as one of the greatest bowlers of all time.
“No child today should live in fear of polio,” said British Paralympian and polio survivor Anne Wafula Strike, who lives in Essex and works closely with Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland as a polio ambassador.
“I am thrilled to announce that I am part of Team End Polio because I believe that together, and only together, we can create a world free from this terrible disease for children everywhere.”
- The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership led by national governments with six partners – the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the vaccine alliance. Its goal is to eradicate polio worldwide.
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