Established in the hard winter of 1999, Polio Plus is both a young NGO and a very mature group of freedom fighters. We formed ourselves in revolt against a life of wheelchair races, chess tournaments and ping-pong matches. We know that disabled people are better than just that. Polio Plus members are dedicated to working with the stark fact that there has been a systematic erosion of the benefits and rights of people with disabilities in the Republic of Macedonia, stemming from the perception that disability is simply a health issue (which can be sold cheaply in economic terms) as opposed to a social miscommunication.

Our membership is composed of both disabled and non-disabled people, drawn from all ethnic groups, thereby modelling inclusion. We are the only NGO in Macedonia to charge a nominal membership fee with the deliberate objective of ensuring an active membership that demands value for its money. We currently have 45 members and will limit membership to a total of 100 in order to avoid the inevitable defocusing from our mission that would arise from the bureaucracy of a large NGO.

We are recognized as the leading disability NGO in the Republic of Macedonia: USAID use us as their reference disability NGO in Macedonia; The National Democratic Institute views us as the leading advocacy NGO, regardless of issue. The British government, USAID, the British embassy, the Office of the Canadian embassy and Handicap International have each funded us for more than one project.