POLIO: THE END IS NEAR

For the next three years the major goal of The Rotary Foundation and Rotary International is to finally complete the eradication of polio from the world. President DK Lee has challenged each Rotary club to help RI meet the Bill Gates Challenge by contributing $US1,000 per year for each of the next three years.

During the first half of the 20th century, poliomyelitis paralyzed half a million persons a year. Today the disease is on the verge of eradication. The war against polio has been waged on many fronts for decades, and never has victory been so close. It is a battle that is fought with two tiny drops of vaccine, sophisticated technology and an army of dedicated volunteers.

Rotary members are leading the charge by committing funds to provide polio vaccine, technical support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment and educational materials for health workers and parents.

Rotary members offer their compassion, time and expertise. During National Immunization Days, Rotarians volunteer to help at immunization posts, deliver vaccine, transport health workers and recruit fellow volunteers

According to the World Health Organisation, the number of polio cases in the world per year has fallen by 99 percent and the number of polio endemic countries has fallen from 125 to four. No new cases of polio have been reported in the Western Hemisphere since 1991.

Rotary members are doing everything in their power to ensure that polio does not make a comeback and derail the eradication goal. Unlike many diseases, we have the technology right now to eradicate polio. Never again will we be closer to our goal than we are today.

The world stands firmly on the threshold of victory. Thanks to the achievements of the last two decades, more than one billion children have received the oral polio vaccine and are protected against the disease. UNICEF estimates that more than three million children are playing and walking today who would have been disabled by polio if it had not been for the efforts of Rotary and its global partners in the effort.

What finer gift can we give the children of the next century than a world without polio?

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