Good-bye polio: Thanks Rotary
I sit to write this article on Oct. 24 – World Polio Day – an ideal time to raise public awareness of the ravages of polio and garner support for eradication efforts. The world is on the verge of eliminating one of the most dreaded diseases of the 20th century — poliomyelitis.
During the first half of the 20th century, polio crippled over a half a million people every year. Even today, children in some developing countries continue to fall victim to the disease. But thanks in large part to Rotary International and to the 1.2 million Rotary members worldwide, the disease will soon be all but a memory.
Personally, I know little about the disease first hand, having been born in 1984, when the United States was already making headway in the fight towards eradication. As a new parent, I took comfort in the fact that polio was not something I would have to worry about for my two sons.
That same parental peace of mind is something I long to share with parents in some of the poorest and most populous regions of the world. To ensure that happens, the spread of the disease must be stopped and surveillance must continue for several years to be sure the virus is completely wiped out. This is no easy task. One of the greatest challenges to the effort is a funding shortage.
In January, 2012, Rotary leaders announced Rotary clubs had raised more than $200 million in response to a $355 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which in turn contributed an additional $50 million in recognition of Rotary’s commitment. All of the resulting $605 million will be spent in support of immunization activities in polio-affected countries.
To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1 billion to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries. Rotary reaches out to governments worldwide to obtain vital financial and technical support. Since 1995, donor governments have contributed in excess of $6 billion to polio eradication, due in part to Rotary’s advocacy efforts. But much more is needed. More than 20 years of steady progress is at stake, and polio — now on the ropes — stands to stage a dangerous comeback unless the funding gap is bridged. Learn more ways to help at: endpolionow.org.
In addition to raising money for polio eradication, Rotary members offer their time and expertise in the field to fight polio by providing support at clinics, transporting vaccine, contributing medical supplies, and mobilizing their communities for immunization and other polio eradication activities. More than one million members of Rotary worldwide have contributed toward the success of the polio eradication effort to date, demonstrating the extraordinary impact civil society can have on a global public health initiative.
With our spearheading partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative– the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–Rotary continues to make progress toward a polio-free world.
I close by wishing you all a happy, albeit belated, World Polio Day – but we all know that we cannot and will not be truly happy until Polio is a distant memory worldwide.
Matthew Dowling of Uniontown is the district governor nominee for Rotary District 7330 and past president of the Rotary Club of Connellsville.