Rotarians urged to continue contributing for Polio eradication

RCKA Bulletin Desk

After 25 years of hard work, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of eradicating this tenacious disease, but a strong push is needed now to root it out once and for all. It is a window of opportunity of historic proportions.  

Reaching the ultimate goal of a polio-free world presents ongoing challenges, not the least of which is a US$535 million funding gap through 2012.

Rotary alone can't fill this gap but the continued Rotarian advocacy for government support can help enormously. As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk.

The stakes are that high. Since the PolioPlus program's inception in 1985, more than two billion children have received oral polio vaccine. But Rotary's work is not done yet.

The disease has not yet been eradicated. You are urged to contribute to the PolioPlus Fund online or by mail to support Rotary's goal of a polio-free world.

Rotary's Challenge is our response to the two grants totaling $355 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help eradicate polio, which goes until June 30. "

If we all have the fortitude to see this effort through to the end, then we will eradicate polio,” the legendary Bill Gates was quoted as saying.  

Our chair of National Polio Plus Committee, PDG Aziz Memon, has been proactively spearheading the cause of eradicating polio.

He looks forward to the continued support of the Rotarians to accomplish the cherished goal.

Bill Gates had recognized PDG Aziz Memon at the New Orleans Convention in 2011 with these inspirational words: “You’ve helped so many people understand that we are “This Close”. We need to help even more understand. There’s a great example in Pakistan, where Aziz Memon is a participant in meetings with the president, regional governors, and health advisors. Rotary is in the room when decisions are made in Pakistan. And you’re capable of being in those same rooms in every other country in which you operate. Now we need to make polio front and center, beyond what we’ve done in the past. And we need to be more creative in our ways of keeping it there. I spend lots of time discussing with your leadership some of the ideas of how we can do that. With the redoubled effort of everyone in this room, and your fellow Rotarians around the world, we can succeed.”