Posted by Sharda Still on Oct 14, 2019
Top 5 Reasons to Eradicate Polio
 
Join us on Thursday October 24, 2019 at 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM at the Markham Civic Center when The END POLIO NOW flag will be raised.
October 24th is proclaimed World Polio day to raise awareness of polio, its impact on our lives and efforts to eradicate this disease as we fulfill our promise to the children of the world.
 
 
 
 
 
Join us on Thursday October 24, 2019 at 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM at the Markham Civic Center to raise The END POLIO NOW flag
 
Rotary members in City of Markham and Richmond Hill are taking action on World Polio Day to raise awareness, funds, and support to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world today.
 
When Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative more than three decades ago, polio paralyzed 1,000 children every day. We’ve made great progress against the disease since then. Polio cases have dropped by 99.9 percent, from 350,000 cases in 1988 in 125 countries to 33 cases of wild poliovirus in 2018 in just two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. And we remain committed to the end.
 
With polio nearly eradicated, Rotary and its partners must sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine. Without full funding and political commitment, this paralyzing disease could return to polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk. Rotary has committed to raising US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to match that 2-to-1, for a total yearly contribution of $150 million. 
 
 
Visit endpolio.org to learn more about Rotary and the fight to eradicate polio.