ENTHUSIASM & ENERGY TO ERADICATE POLIO CONTINUES IN DISTRICT 5450!
A Huge Thank You to all who supported and attended the RI President’s Dinner on Friday night! Final donation numbers are not yet calculated, but hopefully will be around $20,000 which, when matched 2:1 by the Gates Foundation, will be $60,000. The 275 attendees came from 3 Rotary Districts - not just 5450. DG Sandy Mortenson may have started a new fashion trend for Rotarians — wearing bright red End Polio Now high-top sneakers with the classic black dress!!
The number of wild polio cases for 2018 totaled 33 (compared to 22 in 2017) and the number of circulating vaccine derived cases equaled 103 children paralyzed; many of the cVDPV cases in parts of the world that had not seen polio for several years.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has issued an impassioned plea to all involved in the polio eradication effort to excel in their roles and commit to one very clear goal: THE GLOBAL ERADICATION OF POLIO BY 2023. Bill and Melinda Gates have announced their continued match of funds 2:1 for the money raised by Rotary through 2023. This means the last case must occur no later than 2020!