Five Simple Advocacy Actions

The following are ideas that any Rotarian can use any time to engage those with the authority to influence political and financial commitments for polio eradication. This includes: Members of Parliament/Congress/National Assembly; Ministers of Development or International Cooperation, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Finance, and Heads of State.

Most Rotarians can reach out to their member of Parliament/Congress/National Assembly. This outreach can be done by standard mail, by phone, via email (many of these bodies provide email addresses or other means of electronic communication on the world wide web) or via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Face to face contact is also important. Many elected officials hold town halls, conference calls or other special opportunities to encourage constituent engagement.

• Take advantage of media articles about polio eradication – particularly those that draw attention to the positive role of Rotary and the need for support. Share the article with your elected officials. Tell them polio eradication is Rotary’s highest priority and is important to Rotarians as their constituents. Encourage their support for this issue at this critical time, and if appropriate, thank them for your country’s previous support.
• Take advantage of reports issued by key groups for example, the Independent Monitoring Board or the Strategic Advisor Group of Experts. These reports often feature key points and/or quotes on which you can focus your own message.
• Share the infographics available from RI (at www.endpolionow.org ) that convey key messages in simple, easily digested ways. These infographics can be sent at any time to highlight key aspects of the program and the need for continued support.
• Make it personal – tell why polio eradication is important to you. Perhaps you, a friend, or a family member has been personally affected by polio. Perhaps you have children or grandchildren who have been spared as a result of the progress already made. Perhaps you have traveled to a country where you have seen the ravages of polio. Share your story with your elected official and why you feel it is important that they support this issue.
• Invite an elected official to speak to your club and use this as an opportunity to highlight Rotary’s commitment. This could be done in several ways:
• Provide a polio-related speaker gift such as a framed photo of a child being immunized or perhaps an End Polio Now pin with a certificate advising that a contribution has been made in his/her name to PolioPlus. Spend a minute talking about polio eradication as Rotary’s highest priority and encourage the official’s support.
• Ask the official to speak about the government’s support of polio eradication. NOTE: RI can assist in preparing talking points for the invited official’s use and you can offer this assistance. This ensures that they are briefed on the issue and also conveys to the official that this is an issue that is important to your club.
• If an elected official is invited to a club or district event for a non-polio related reason, this is still an opportunity to highlight polio eradication as Rotary’s top priority and encourage that official’s support. This simple action will reinforce outreach that is done by other Rotarians at Capitol level. Often elected officials will mention that they have spoken to a Rotary club but the club never mentioned anything about Rotary’s work on polio. This actually hurts Rotary’s efforts.