Isabel Scarinci Shares OPERATION WIPE OUT Mission at Rotary International Convention
Rotarian Isabel Scarinci presents at the Rotary International Convention in Calgary
Rotary Club of Birmingham (RCB) member Dr. Isabel Scarinci, Vice Chair for Global and Rural Health in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Senior Advisor for Global Cancer at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB, led one of three mainstage presentations during the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada, on June 24th.
Dr. Scarinci inspired convention attendees with her message and mission, earning a standing ovation from over 16,000 people filling the Scotiabank Saddledome.
“Why do I believe we can eliminate cervical cancer? Because I have a disease…that everyone here every Rotarian every Rotaract had the audacity and the tenacity to eliminate, and that's polio,” Dr. Scarinci said. Today I am in what I believe the best club in the world that is very committed to eliminate cervical cancer. And I think the opportunity to eliminate another disease. Not many people have that opportunity. And that's my commitment.”
Dr. Scarinci shared her personal journey as a polio survivor that inspires her to lead OPERATION WIPE OUT, an initiative supported by the RCB Foundation to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health threat in Alabama in collaboration with UAB, the Alabama Department of Public Health, and other partners. She traced the evolution of the club’s cervical cancer elimination work, beginning with a Rotary Foundation grant-supported project lead by RCB in Sri Lanka, followed by initiatives in Guatemala and the state of Alabama. Dr. Scarinci outlined how Rotary Clubs around the world may engage regional community partners to build a replicable framework supporting cervical cancer prevention, treatment and follow-up.
“When I'm walking and a young person asked me, ‘What happened to your leg?’ And I say, ‘I had polio.’ And the most rewarding thing to me is when that young person says, ‘What is polio?’ And I look up and I say, ‘Mom, we did it.’
Click here to learn more about RCB’s cancer prevention work and OPERATION WIPE OUT.
Click here or on the image below to watch Dr. Scarinci’s presentation in Calgary.
