Rotary Club of Sackville Fights to End Polio Worldwide

 

In honor of World Polio Day, which is widely recognized on the 24^th of October, the Rotary Club of Sackville held a fun auction on Thursday, October 1^st and raised $1500 as part of Rotary’s 30-year mission to eradicate the crippling childhood disease polio.

 

Local Rotarian Pam Harrison suggested that to recognize the 30^th anniversary of Rotary’s fight to eradicate polio that our 30 members should raise a minimum of $30 each.  This goal of $900 was exceeded through the generosity of individual club members!

 

Due to the enthusiasm of club members to achieve their goal the Board of Directors decided to match these contributions to a total of $3000!

 

 

World Polio Day follows a succession of significant developments that have made 2015 one of the most important years in the history of the polio eradication initiative. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on 25 September that Nigeria is now polio-free and has been officially removed from the list of countries where polio is endemic. It’s been 14 months since any cases of polio caused by the wild virus have been detected there. With Nigeria’s historic achievement, polio remains endemic in only two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. That means transmission of the virus has never been stopped there.

 

Since 1985, Rotary has contributed nearly $1.4 billion and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries.  So the message to world leaders is clear: support the final push to achieve eradication now while the goal has never been closer, or face the potential consequences of a new polio pandemic that could disable millions of children within a decade.

 

President Dianne Oulton of the Sackville Rotary Club said that “contributing to the end game of the Polio Plus eradication initiative was the right thing to do especially since every new dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to US$ 35 million a year. So our club’s contribution of $3000 in essence will be tripled to a grand total of $9000”.

 

A highly infectious disease, polio causes paralysis and is sometimes fatal.  As there is no cure, the best protection is prevention. For as little as US 60 cents worth of vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling disease for life.  After an international investment of more than US$9 billion, and the successful engagement of over 200 countries and 20 million volunteers, polio could be the first human disease of the 21st century to be eradicated.

 

The Global Polio Eradication Imitative  is spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  It includes the support of governments and other private sector donors.

 

 

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org.World Polio Day: Rotary Club of Sackville Fights to End Polio Worldwide