Prime Minister Stephen Harper today received the Rotary Foundation Polio Eradication Champion Award, for his longstanding support and continued leadership in efforts to eliminate polio around the world. The Prime Minister accepted the award at a ceremony hosted by the Canadian Rotary Foundation in Toronto.

 
The Polio Eradication Champion Award is the highest honour the Rotary Foundation presents to heads of state, health agency leaders and others who have made significant contributions to the global polio eradication effort. The Rotary Foundation is an international organization that helps fund humanitarian activities, from local service projects to global initiatives. It undertakes worldwide Rotary campaigns such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Rotarians and friends of Rotary support the Foundation’s work through voluntary contributions.​
 
The Government of Canada has been at the forefront of the fight against polio. Since 2006, Canada has disbursed significant funds to eradicate polio, namely through support to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), to which Canada is one of the top donors. At the Global Vaccine Summit in April 2013, Canada reconfirmed its commitment to polio eradication and pledged funds over six years to support the GPEI’s 2013-2018 Endgame Strategic Plan which sets out a roadmap to eradicate polio by 2018.