World Polio Day October 24, 2016
Join us in a fight to the finish to eradicate polio, a crippling and completely preventable disease.
As a long-time member of Rotary, I'm happy to report good news in celebration of World Polio Day 2016 on October 24: If we can vaccinate children in the remote areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, we can end polio and protect all of the world's children.
That's a huge accomplishment. There were 350,000 polio cases a year in 125 countries around the world, or about 1,000 new cases of polio a day, in 1988, when polio eradication became a top priority for Rotary International, an international service organization with now nearly 1.2 million members in 35,000 clubs worldwide.
Rotary joined forces with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to form one of world's largest public-private health care partnerships.
Rotary alone has contributed $1.5 billion to polio eradication efforts, including a September 2016 $8.15 million donation to stop the recent outbreak in Nigeria's Lake Chad region.
However, experts warn that $1.5 billion in additional funds are still needed to ensure we have the resources in place to finish the job.
Fortunately, I have more good news: Right now, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is matching the funds raised by Rotary to end polio by two-to-one. That means, if you contribute $50 dollars, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will contribute $100.
Anyone can help in this battle, just go to www.endpolio.org to make a contribution to the Rotary Foundation's fund to fight polio. The Rotary Foundation was recently given a top rating by Charity Navigator, an independent organization that evaluates U.S. charities, so you know your dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively.
The progress we've made, though significant, is fragile. Please help us end polio once and for all.
Sincerely,
Carol Wells
End Polio Chair - Rotary District 6440
Rotary District 6440 covers northeastern Illinois with more than 70 Rotary clubs and 2,300 Rotarians.
www.Rotary6440.org
Photo: Illinois Rotarian Carol Wells administered a polio vaccine to a child in Nigeria during a 2013 vaccination campaign. A global eradication campaign was poised to declare Africa polio-free in 2017. However, two children have been diagnosed with polio paralysis in an area liberated from Islamic extremists. In the face of the setback, plans for a renewed vaccination push are under way
Original post: http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/glencoe/community/chi-ugc-article-celebrate-world-polio-day-oct-24-with-a-rene-3-2016-10-12-story.html