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PLEDGE TO HELP
ERADICATE POLIO BY 2005
Learn More About Polio Plus
Down to: 6/22/05 USA Today Item; 1/18/05 Letter to HTR Editor
The Promise- Polio Free World By 2005
Progress- Polio Dropped 99.8% Since 1988
Bob Gahl urged each member to pledge $50/yr ($12.50/qtr)
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Polio Eradication (back to top)
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Fight isn't over, but polio on brink of eradication
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| By Anita Manning, USA TODAY- 6/22/05 Wiping out polio is proving tougher than expected, but world health experts say the disease's demise is tantalizingly near. In 1988, there were 350,000 cases. This year, there are just over 500 cases. But this is no time to drop the guard, experts say. "As long as there is polio somewhere in the world, we've learned, it is just one traveler away from being anywhere in the world ... including here," said Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "So it's very, very important that we stay the course and continue to do whatever it takes to eradicate this problem." Gerberding and leaders of the World Health Organization and UNICEF spoke Tuesday in Chicago at the 100th anniversary of the worldwide service organization Rotary International. They praised Rotary's 20-year drive to eradicate polio worldwide, an effort that has raised more than $600 million. "Without Rotarians, who provide much of the legwork, the muscle and certainly the brainpower to make these efforts successful, we wouldn't be where we are today," Gerberding said. Vaccination campaigns are proving successful, said Hamid Jafari, director of the Global Immunization Division at the CDC. Asian countries are "on track for stopping transmission this year," he said. "The situation in Africa is also looking very good" after a series of immunization campaigns in 23 countries last fall and this spring. He said there are fewer cases now in Africa than there have been in the past five years. Yet pockets of concern remain. Lee Jong-wook, director-general of WHO, said cases imported from Nigeria, which suspended vaccinations for about a year, "remind us that we must continue to protect the children" and to enlist the commitment of governments to promote anti-polio efforts. He said $50 million is needed by July to pay for immunization campaigns through this year, and $200 million is needed for 2006. Rotary president Glenn Estess said his organization would stay involved until the last case of polio is recorded. "Polio is our priority," he said. Rotarians have helped transport and administer vaccine, recruit local volunteers, set up vocational training programs for victims and arranged for proper handling of vaccine in remote areas of the world. He said Rotarians have even negotiated cease-fires in war zones so children could be vaccinated. The amount Rotarians have raised is "a lot of money," Estess said. "But to me, the labor involved, the commitment of volunteer time, is equal to or outweighs the $600 million." The goal once was to stop polio by 2000; now health experts are aiming for next year. Estess said he had hoped he could have announced the last case during this week's Rotary centennial conference, but "we didn't get there. "When will it be eliminated? No one really knows, but the key is we can eliminate it," Estess said."We can do it, and we believe it will be done." See also Global health organizations recognize Rotary International’s unprecedented role in the fight to end polio worldwide | |
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Rotary in the Wall Street Journal! The 50th anniversary of the Salk polio vaccine 12 April was a great day for Rotary in the news.- To commemorate the date, Rotary International partnered with the New York Times to have an editorial placed on the Op-Ed page. In addition, Rotary was mentioned in more than 70 articles in newspapers and Web sites around the globe on 12 April. However, the piece that had Rotary members cheering was an editorial from the Wall Street Journal praising Rotary for its contribution to eradicating polio. The editors wrote, “It's become fashionable in some quarters to deride civic volunteerism, but Rotary's unsung polio effort deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”
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| DEAR EDITOR: There still remains many challenges in eliminating the last pockets of polio in India and worldwide. A key partner in the process is the local Two Rivers Rotary and Rotary International. A global network' of 1.2 million women and men united in humanitarian service, Rotary was the first to have the vision of a polio-free world back in 1985. In fact, it was Rotary's foresight that sparked the Global Poliio Eradication Initiative; which is today spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the volunteer arm and lead private sector contributor, Rotary has provided more than U.S. million to eradicate polio in India, and over $500 million, worldwide. 'In 2003, Rotary raised an additional $130 million to help stem the program's current funding crisis. Rotary members also contribute countless volunteer hours in the field. Alongside our partners, we work from dawn to dusk, administering drops of the oral polio vaccine to millions of children: To help build britical public support in India, Rotary members are working with such organizations as Aligarh Muslim University and with community leaders and celebrities including Indian film and cricket stars. All the hard work is paying off. Epidemiologists say India was on track to stop poliovirus transmission by the end of 2004, having reported only 69 cases in 2004, compared with 161 cases for the. same period in 2003, and 1,600 ases in all of 2002. To help ensure this success, over 1,000 Rotary members and health officials, including the president of India, convened in Delhi in August for Rotary International's Polio Eradication Summit 2004. Rotary's unique partnership with UN agencies and governments should be recognized to point the way for other private public collaborations to achieve major health objectives in the future. Dean Hessler, Two Rivers (Pledge on line NOW or contact Chairman Bob Gahl) |
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