From polio survivor to global advocate: Why we must finish the fight against polio

By Ramesh Ferris, Canadian Polio Survivor and Global End Polio Advocate  

My journey to end polio began long before I understood what advocacy meant. Born in India in 1980, I contracted polio at just six months old. The virus permanently paralyzed my legs, changing the course of my life before I could even speak. At two-and-a-half-years-old, I was adopted by a Canadian family and brought to the Yukon, where I was given opportunities that would shape my future. 

Growing up in Canada, I learned that a disability does not define a person’s potential. My experiences taught me resilience, gratitude and the importance of inclusion. But they also left me with a question: Why should any child have to experience what I did when polio is a vaccine-preventable disease? 

That question became my life’s mission. 

In 2008, I launched Cycle to Walk, an extraordinary journey across Canada to raise awareness and funds for polio eradication, education and rehabilitation. Using a hand cycle, I travelled 7,140 kilometres over six months, from Victoria, British Columbia, to Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador. Every kilometre was a reminder that physical barriers can be overcome, but no child should have to live with the lifelong consequences of a preventable disease. 

My advocacy has taken me around the world, including to Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, and in each of these countries I witnessed the devastating effects polio can have on my fellow Global Citizens as I watched them crawl on the streets of their communities, begging for help.  

I have met community members, health workers, political leaders and fellow advocates who are working tirelessly to protect children. Through my work with many of the partners of the global polio eradication initiatives like Rotary International, Gates Foundation, and UNICEF, I have witnessed the extraordinary power of people uniting across borders, cultures and political differences for a common purpose. 

Finals steps towards polio eradication 

As a Rotarian, serving as Rotary District 5370 Governor in 2025–2026 was a tremendous honour. It strengthened my belief that service, leadership and collective action can change the world. I have seen how Rotary members, governments, health professionals, donors and volunteers can work together to deliver vaccines, strengthen health systems and bring us closer to a polio-free world. 

During my lifetime, the progress has been remarkable. In 1988, polio once paralyzed 350,000 children annually in 125 polio endemic countries. Today, wild poliovirus remains endemic in only Afghanistan and Pakistan. This achievement represents decades of scientific progress, vaccination campaigns and extraordinary human commitment. Yet the final steps are proving difficult. Conflict, misinformation, gaps in immunization and barriers to reaching vulnerable communities continue to put children at risk. 

For me, ending polio is deeply personal. I live every day with the consequences of a virus that vaccination can prevent. I cannot change my own story, but I can help ensure that future generations never have to share it. I dream of a world where no parent fears their child will be paralysed by polio, and where every child, regardless of where they are born, has access to life-saving vaccines. 

My message to Canadians 

My message to Canadians is simple: we must finish what we started. Canada has a proud tradition of global leadership, humanitarian service and international cooperation. We must continue supporting vaccination programs, investing in global health, combating misinformation and standing with communities where polio remains a threat. 

Eradicating polio is not simply about ending a disease. It is about equity, dignity and our shared responsibility to protect children everywhere. If we stop before the job is done, the virus can return and undo decades of progress. 

I am living proof of what polio can take away. Together, we can ensure it takes nothing more from future generations. The finish line is within reach, but we must keep moving forward. 

Let’s unite for good, finish the fight and make history by ending polio