World Polio Day in October has been and gone with some great events held in District but we are not yet “Polio Free” with YTD cases this year 20, 16 in Afghanistan and the other 4 in Pakistan.
Polio does still exist! Is it curable!
Q: Polio is a disease you read about in history books. Does it still exist! Is it curable!
A: Polio does still exist, although polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated more than 350 000 cases to 22 reported cases in 2017.
This reduction is the result of the global effort to eradicate the disease. Today, only 3 countries in the world have never stopped transmission of polio (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria).
Despite the progress achieved since 1988, as long as a single child remains infected with poliovirus, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the disease. The poliovirus can easily be imported into a polio-free country and can spread rapidly amongst unimmunized populations. Failure to eradicate polio could result in as many as 200 000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world.
There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.
POLIO IN NIGERIA, the Race to Eradication
Nigerian experience has underscored the complexity of the eradication endeavor and vividly demonstrates the fragility and reversibility of gains made to date.
“Nigeria,” according to GPEI’s independent monitoring board, “is at risk of losing everything it had gained.”
Now, with a new target date for global eradication set for the end of 2019, the stakes are extremely high: beyond the human costs of additional flare-ups, further postponement of the target date may undermine the sense of opportunity, urgency, and focus necessary to achieve eradication.
Concern that this new target may be missed has spurred an urgent “now or never” push by GPEI members to apply the lessons of the last decade and ensure that Nigeria will be polio free by 2019.
POLIO PIG
This has accompanied me on club events since October 2018 and current donations have resulted in over $500-00 being raised and the funds retained by clubs toward there Polio Contribution.
It will be interesting what we can raise by District Conference in May 2019.
SILENT WINE AUCTION/DISTRICT CONFERENCE 2019
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This 5 Litre of Italian Red in the feature product to be used in a “Silent Wine Auction” at District Conference in Wanganui in May 2018, valued at $150-00 with a current bid of $500-00, can you do better.Also we are adding other bottles donated by Rotarians
For details on the Polio Fundraiser please contact me E: mickel@slingshot.co.nz