ROTARY NEEDS YOUR HELP
One of the world’s oldest and most influential humanitarian service
organisations, Rotary International, is continuing to work towards the
culmination of Rotary’s 28 year crusade to rid the world of the crippling
childhood disease Poliomyelitis.
Since
1988, Rotary has been in partnership with the World Health Organisation, the US
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and
UNICEF – along with other humanitarian organisations and national
governments - to achieve this lofty
goal.
It will
be only the second time in history that a major disease has been eradicated
from the world’s population – smallpox being the first.
Dr Margaret Chan, CEO of WHO went public last
June to express her admiration and support for the Rotary International
organisation and its 1.2 million members who to date have raised more than
US$800 million and contributed countless volunteer hours to protect more than
two billion children in 122 countries from the threat of polio. She pledged the entire resources of WHO to
assist Rotary and other partners to complete the historic mission.
When Rotary launched its Polio eradication program, there were
more than 350,000 severe cases of the disease worldwide each year. In the year ended
Such has been the success of the campaign
that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of Microsoft fame has also thrown
its considerable resources behind the program, recently awarding Rotary two
challenge grants totalling US$355 million, which Rotary has pledged to match with an additional US$200 million, with all
of the resulting US$555 million earmarked for polio eradication. Rotary has also played a major role in
convincing donor governments to contribute over US$4 billion to the effort.
Rotary clubs are announcing to the world that we will not stop
until the goal is achieved.
An
Members of the public are encouraged to
financially support Rotary’s attempt to
eradicate Polio from our world by contacting their local Rotary
club.
For more information, visit www.rotary.org or Australian Rotary club
contacts can be found at www.rotarydownunder.com.au
and click on “clubs and districts”.
Let me remind you of the very impressive and
important partners that are sharing this responsibility with Rotary
International:
·
World
Health Organisation
·
The
·
UNICEF
·
An
of course all the governments of the world.
Come with me as we take a basic lesson in
VIROLOC. There are 3 types of Polio
virus. They have been given somewhat
confusing names so we will call them:
·
TYPE 1
·
TYPE 2 and
·
TYPE 3
·
We actually eradicated TYPE 2 Polio in 1999
TYPE 1 - IS THE NASTY ONE.
It paralyses and kills children and it is
easily exported from country to country
TYPE 3 - is the LOCAL one - It doesn’t travel
far.
Our objective over the last few years has
been to especially attack Type 1 Polio and to just manage type 3.
Specific vaccines have been developed for
both Types 1 and 3.
Under the new Leadership and
commitment of Rotary International Past President Wilf Wilkinson met with
National Immunisation Plus Days are held
– Not only Polio is treated – we also cover:
·
malaria nets,
·
de-worming medication,
·
Measles etc.
This has been a tremendous
success.
Recent SCIENTIFIC papers and studies have stated that the cost of
not eradicating Polio will cost more in the long term then the actual amount of
$dollars it is costing to eradicate the virus up to now.
If we have only routine immunisation alone, it would result in
200,000 cases each year and that
means 200,000 children becoming crippled and or dying of the disease.
Each Rotary club is challenged to commit US$1,000 each year for
the next 3 years.
It is not simply up to Rotarians
to meet this contribution level. It is
up to us to share this with our local communities and work out ways of
involving them in this special fund raising effort. We
need to share the message with our communities that we are about to eradicate Polio
from the face of the Earth with their support.
I hope that you all believe that
we can
eradicate Polio and with your help we will.
President DK Lee said in 2008: “For
22 years you and your fellow Rotarians have dedicated your time and efforts to
eradicating Polio. You have done so in
the face of extraordinary challenges.
You have overcome financial shortfalls, conflict and lack of security. You have conquered cultural barriers and lack
of political will.
At every turn, in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles,
you have found creative solutions in partnership with the WHO, UNICEF, the
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the various governments
around the world..
In this way Rotarians have shown the world what can be achieved
when civil society and the United Nations partner together.
When the chapter on Polio eradication is finally written, it will
tell one of the most spectacular success stories in public health. It will describe one of the world’s most
remarkable partnerships and it will highlight your personal service to
humanity.
Today Rotarians in Leadership is more crucial than ever. Your determination and generosity will drive
us to the finish line in our race against polio. I know you will go the distance and I will be
with you every step of the way. Thank
you very much.”
PolioPlus - Rotarians
have mobilized by the hundred of thousands to ensure that children are
immunized against this crippling disease and that surveillance is strong,
despite the poor infrastructure, extreme poverty and civil strife of many
countries. Since the Polio Plus
Program’s inception in 1985, more than 2 billion children have been administered
the vaccine. To date, 210 countries,
territories and areas around the world are polio-free, and 134 of these have been
certified. As of June 2008, Rotary has committed more than $757 million to
global polio eradication. 2007-08 program awards were $126.7 million. (includesPolioPlus Partners grants)
PolioPlus Partners is a program that has allowed Rotarians to participate
in the polio eradication effort by contributing to specific social mobilization
and surveillance activities in polio-endemic countries. In 2008-09, the
PolioPlus Partners program will no longer raise funds specifically for
PolioPlus Partners projects. The program will receive up to $5 million from the
general PolioPlus Fund to continue supporting social mobilization and surveillance
projects in polio-endemic and high-risk countries. In 2007-08, over 7,794 clubs
in 509 districts contributed to 493 PolioPlus Partners projects, supporting
National Immunization Days and other polio eradication activities around the
world.
MARIE GRANT
Director Marketing & Public
Relations
Rotary District 9630
Phone: 0400 505 132
Email: grant.mariet@police.qld.gov.au