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“Fulfilling
Our Promise: Eradicate Polio” Let us imagine that we are in a village in Northern
India. An Indian
family lives happily together.
The father and his son tend the crops and fish to provide food. His wife looks after the home, and cares for the
children. The children go to school and play with their friends. A content family with laughter and happiness.
No worries and no real problems. One day Sharanjit,
the3 year old, is poorly. Nothing
very much – a bit hot - a bit off colour, - a few aches and pains.
These things happen from time to time.
No need to worry. After two or three days she is back to normal. After a few more days her brother Manjit,
– he is 8 – becomes poorly just as his sister did.
But then he becomes weak.
He cannot breath properly; he becomes ill and weak– his
breathing gets more laboured.
Sadly, he dies. A few more days pass. Gurdev,
the five-year-old sister, develops the same symptoms. She cannot move her right leg and she becomes paralysed. Fortunately her breathing is not affected.
She gets better but she will never walk properly again.
She will be a cripple for life. Poliomyelitis
- or infantile paralysis as it was known- has devastated a happy family.
Many will remember the 1940’s and 50’s and the
ban on swimming, ice creams, and going to crowded places and the fear
of our parents of polio.
Since 1960 – no more in UK because of polio immunisation. We
may – to coin a phrase - “think
it is all over”– that polio is a thing of the past. Not true!!
Polio Plus is a monumental project which has achieved tremendous
success. But it must
continue as the goal of a polio
free world is within our grasp.
But it is like running a marathon – we must not falter in the
final mile or so. There are SALUTARY REMINDERS.
Complacency is a danger. Remember
measles recently in the UK. Bulgaria
had polio cases a few years ago imported from a traveller from India.
Immunisation is vital. Worldwide travel means we must continue to immunise
till eradication has been achieved HISTORY
1.
Started in Philippines in
1979 through 3-H grant of
$760,000. 2.
Polio
plus
launched in 1985 to immunise 500 million children. 3.
$240,000,000
raised
in 1988– originally to be used to control the disease. 4.
WHO
target - to eradicate polio by 2000 and declare world polio free by
2005. SITUATION
IN 1988
350,000 cases annually were estimated.
Around 80 countries were
polio free. SITUATION
IN 1998
Around
3,500 cases a year with much better surveillance.
160 countries polio
free SITUATION
IN 2001
Endemic in 10 countries only
(Nigeria, Niger, Angola, Somalia,
Egypt, Sudan Ethiopia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan)
Only 537
cases in the 2001 (In
the last 12 months around 400) HOW
HAS THIS BEEN ACHIEVED? 1.
BY IMMUNISATION 1. Routine immunisation 2. National Immunisation days (NIDs)–
all under five’s 152 million Indians in one day in January 2001 3. Mop up any missed pockets of polio – door to door visiting – even by boat
in the Mekong delta 2. BY SURVEILLANCE. We must know how we
are doing.
1.
Surveillance
to detect polio
– only 1 in 200 will be paralysed. 2.
Monitor areas are polio free as areas will not be certified polio
free till 3 years with no cases. 3.
148
labs have
been set up which will be of long term benefit to the communities in
which they are situated HOW HAS
ROTARY SUPPORTED?
Rotary is supporting in three
main ways. 1. Firstly through Polio Plus grants
·
for
the vaccine and its transportation to centres, ·
to
promote NIDs, ·
to
transport teams to vaccinate
as in the Sudan where fighting stopped to allow vaccination to occur.
A team was flown in to immunise the children.
2. Secondly through
Polio Advocacy – Rotary works with others – 1
Governments 2
World Health Organisation 3
UNICEF 4
US Centre for Disease Prevention Control A task force of Rotary leaders persuading Governments and private companies to
donate to support the campaign. 3.
Thirdly through Rotary
Volunteers. Volunteers
working to: 1.
Organise NIDs- massive support is needed 2.
Mobilise volunteers and children 3.
Vaccinate children – 2 drops of vaccine by mouth 4.
Educate others 5.
Work with local governments 6.
Assist in local surveillance. Many tens of thousands of Rotarians have helped in such days over the
last few years resulting in good publicity for Rotary in those
countries where polio occurs. WHAT
HAS BEEN ACHIEVED 1.
Nearly $500 million
committed already by Rotary 2.
Polio
now only remains in 10 countries 3.
Well over 2 billion
children immunised. 4.
4
million
running and playing who would have been crippled. 5.
Once polio eradicated $1.5
billion will be saved each year in immunisation costs alone. PRESENT
SITUATION
The WHO considers that there are 3 remaining
obstacles to the eradication of Polio ·
Funding
shortfall of $400 million ·
Accessing
all children ·
Sustaining
Commitment - this is the real problem – v
If we sustain commitment we will reach children e.g. tranquillity days in war
zones etc. v
If we sustain commitment we will achieve the funding needed. v
If
we sustain commitment we will eradicate polio from the world. SO WHAT IS
ROTARY GOING TO DO NOW? “Fulfilling our Promise: Eradicate polio” Rotary International has agreed to have a final push
to eradicate polio The Target
to
raise $80 million for Polio
eradication from July 1st till June 30th 2003 This
will be doubled and matched by organisations such as the Gates
foundation and terms have been arranged with the World Bank which will
cover the remaining $320 million It can be done. IT WILL
BE DONE
For the
District: The target equates to $67 per Rotarian or in £ terms
around £50 per Rotarian.
For
District 1220 this is a target of £100,000 It does not
mean that each Rotarian should necessarily give this amount but it is a target figure to
which a Club can work. – but some Rotarians who were not involved
before might wish to. We
are asking each Club to try to raise the equivalent of £50
per
Rotarian A
Club of 60 needs to raise £3000 whilst a Club of 20 needs to raise £1000 How
it is to be done by the Club is up to the Club WHAT
IS DISTRICT DOING? 1.
It has set up Polio
Eradication Fund-raising Committee 2.
Members are
Keith Hammond Colin
Brockington
Bretby from South Bibek
Pradhan
Mansfield from North Peter
Clark
Wirkswirth
West Val
Lindley
Sherwood Sunrisers from East Brian
Darlison
Hucknall for Publicity SO
WHY DO IT – “IT WILL NEVER BE ACHIEVED!!”? - 1.
We must fulfil that promise of 15 years ago. 2.
The eradication of polio is achievable 3.
For
the children of the world
– no longer need there be a fear of polio with death and paralysis and
the ruination of lives and families 4.
Savings of $1.5 billion a
year on vaccine and move onto other major health programmes in the
future 5.
Show the world of the strength and belief of Rotary to benefit
humanity. FINALLY
It is a challenge. Given the will it is
achievable. Please
- do all you can to meet this challenge To raise the equivalent of £50 per Rotarian in your Club Past RI
President Cliff Dochterman describes a NID in Addas Ababa, Ethiopia. A group of Polio crippled children sits and sings
a song which begins “Its too late for us” as
they begged for the protection of their friends by immunisation. In Moldova Past
RI Director Mario Grassi tells of a 12-year-old boy in a wheel chair who
brought his 6 year old brother to be immunised. He whispered “For
me you came too late” Let us not be too late
for the other children GOODBYE POLIO - What a gift to the Children of
the world! Keith
Hammond May 2002 |