Statutory Event - WORLD POLIO DAY 2026
World Polio Day 2026
Polio eradication – a uniting factor in a changing world
Thursday, 22 October 2026 | 16.00–18.30
Executive Board Room, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Because when it comes to eradication, 99% is not enough.
More than four decades of extraordinary global cooperation have brought the world to the
threshold of eradicating polio. But the final stretch is also the hardest — and until transmission is
stopped everywhere, children everywhere remain at risk.
On the occasion of World Polio Day 2026, the World Health Organization and Rotary invite you
to join us at WHO headquarters in Geneva to celebrate how far the world has come, understand
what remains to finish the job, and recognize the extraordinary partnership that has made this
progress possible.
The event will be opened by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
together with Dominique Perron, Rotary International Representative to the United Nations
in Geneva, and will include an accessible “Polio Eradication 101” session exploring where we
are today, why eradication still matters, and what it will take to reach zero.
Returning to where the journey began
There could hardly be a more fitting setting. We will gather in WHO's Executive Board room —
the room in which Member States took the historic decision in 1988 to launch the global effort to
eradicate polio. Thirty-eight years later, we return to where the journey began to reflect on
extraordinary progress — and on what it will take to complete it.
Following the programme, please stay with us for an informal apéro immediately outside the
Executive Board room, with an opportunity to meet and exchange with Rotarians, WHO
colleagues and partners from Geneva and beyond. There will also be opportunities to support
Rotary's PolioPlus programme, including through a special charity raffle with some wonderful
prizes.
French interpretation will be provided throughout the event. Registration and practical information below.
Registration and practical information
Registration is required for all external visitors to WHO.
LINK FOR REGISTRATION: Register for World Polio Day 2026 at WHO
Venue:
World Health Organization
Executive Board Room
Avenue Appia 20
1211 Geneva, Switzerland
WHO headquarters on Google Maps
The programme begins at 16.00. Please plan to arrive by approximately 15.30 to allow sufficient
time to pass through WHO security and reach the Executive Board Room.
Please bring a valid government-issued photo ID, which will be required to enter WHO.
Please note that visitor parking will not be available at WHO; participants are therefore
strongly encouraged to use public transport.
For any questions, please contact:
PolioPlus Coordinator, Rotary District 1990
theophile.houessou@rotary1990.ch
Rotary Club Genève International
rosenbauero@who.int | +41 79 500 6536
We very much look forward to welcoming you to WHO on 22 October — to celebrate
extraordinary progress, renew our commitment, and help finish the job.
