Special to the Sydenham Current
On Thursday, March 24th, Past District Governor Keith Koke spoke to the Rotary Club of Wallaceburg about Rotary International’s “End Polio Now”, their Polio Eradication Initiative.
Also attending the meeting were Rotary District 6380 Governor Henry Dotson and Assistant District Governor Don Jackson and their spouses, and Barry Fraser, a Chatham Rotarian.
Rotary International launched its polio immunization program Polio Plus in 1985, and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the WHO, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was later joined by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since the initiative launched, the incidence of polio has been reduced by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to 70 confirmed in 2015.
After nearly 30 years the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is on the brink of ending polio by 2018. More than 2.5 million children have been immunized since the campaign started.
Last year there were only three countries left with confirmed polio cases: Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Nigeria has had no new cases of polio in 8 months, leaving only two countries with polio.
Rotary has contributed more than $1.5 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio.
Through 2018, every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, up to $35 million a year.
There are over 1.2 million Rotarians in more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas.
Their work improves life at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to world-wide programs.
The Rotary Club of Wallaceburg is a regular contributor towards polio eradication. So far in the 2015-2016 Rotary year, the club has raised over $2,000 for Polio Plus since July 1st.
– Submitted photo: President Sussan Londry with Barry Fraser, Keith Koke, A. D. G. Don Jackson, D. G. Henry Dotson, Barbara Berner and Nancy Jackson.
