End Polio Now - Thanks Rotary
Posted by Margaret Rattray
Rotary celebrates its 104th birthday in style, around the world...
DRAMATIC MESSAGE ON OPERA HOUSE SAILS : END POLIO NOW - THANKS ROTARY
One of the world's oldest and most influential humanitarian service organisations, Rotary International, will celebrate its 104th birthday next Monday, February 23, by beaming the words "END POLIO NOW - THANKS ROTARY" on the sails of Australia's famous icon, the Sydney Opera House.
On the same night, a similar message will be beamed on other well known world buildings such as the British Houses of Parliament in London, UK, and the United Nations Building in New York, USA, to highlight the pending culmination of Rotary's twenty year crusade to rid the world of the crippling childhood disease, Poliomyelitis .
"By illuminating these historic landmarks with our pledge to end polio, Rotary clubs are announcing to the world that we will not stop until the goal is achieved," said Jonathan Majiyagbe, chair of The Rotary Foundation, which overseas Rotary's polio eradication program. "We hope people everywhere will see these words either in person or through the media and join with us and our partners in this historic effort to rid the world of polio once and for all."
Since 1988, Rotary has been in partnership with the World Health Organisation, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF along with other humanitarian organisations and national governments - to achieve this lofty goal. It will be only the second time in history that a major disease has been eradicated from the world's population, smallpox being the first.
Dr Margaret Chan, CEO of WHO went public last June to express her admiration and support for the Rotary International organisation and its 1.2 million members who to date have raised more than US$800 million and contributed countless volunteer hours to protect more than two billion children in 122 countries from the threat of polio.
She pledged the entire resources of WHO to assist Rotary and other partners to complete the historic mission.
When Rotary launched its Polio eradication program, there were more than 350,000 severe cases of the disease worldwide each year. In the year ended June 30, 2008, there were fewer than 2,000 cases contained in just four countries.
Such has been the success of the campaign that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of Microsoft fame has also thrown its considerable resources behind the program, recently awarding Rotary two challenge grants totalling US$355 million, which Rotary has pledged to match with an additional US$200 million, with all of the resulting US$555 million earmarked for polio eradication. Rotary has also played a major role in convincing donor governments to contribute over US$4 billion to the effort.
Rotary International Public Relations General Coordinator Bob Aitken said the "light show" on the sails of the Sydney Opera House will commence at around 8.30 pm on Monday night and continue into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
He said Rotary International is very grateful for the cooperation of the CEO and staff of the Sydney Opera House for making this public awareness exercise possible.
"Similarly, the venue manager of Wharf 8 and Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal have been very helpful in making a secure venue available for the technical beaming of the message by innovative Sydney based company The Electric Canvas", he said.
Bob Aitken urged members of the public wanting to financially support Rotary's final eradication of Polio to contact the Rotary club in their suburb or town. For more information, visit www.rotary.org or contact Rotary International in Australia on 02 9635 3537. Australian Rotary club contacts can be found at www.rotarydownunder.com.au and click on "clubs and districts".
One of the world's oldest and most influential humanitarian service organisations, Rotary International, will celebrate its 104th birthday next Monday, February 23, by beaming the words "END POLIO NOW - THANKS ROTARY" on the sails of Australia's famous icon, the Sydney Opera House.
On the same night, a similar message will be beamed on other well known world buildings such as the British Houses of Parliament in London, UK, and the United Nations Building in New York, USA, to highlight the pending culmination of Rotary's twenty year crusade to rid the world of the crippling childhood disease, Poliomyelitis .
"By illuminating these historic landmarks with our pledge to end polio, Rotary clubs are announcing to the world that we will not stop until the goal is achieved," said Jonathan Majiyagbe, chair of The Rotary Foundation, which overseas Rotary's polio eradication program. "We hope people everywhere will see these words either in person or through the media and join with us and our partners in this historic effort to rid the world of polio once and for all."
Since 1988, Rotary has been in partnership with the World Health Organisation, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF along with other humanitarian organisations and national governments - to achieve this lofty goal. It will be only the second time in history that a major disease has been eradicated from the world's population, smallpox being the first.
Dr Margaret Chan, CEO of WHO went public last June to express her admiration and support for the Rotary International organisation and its 1.2 million members who to date have raised more than US$800 million and contributed countless volunteer hours to protect more than two billion children in 122 countries from the threat of polio.
She pledged the entire resources of WHO to assist Rotary and other partners to complete the historic mission.
When Rotary launched its Polio eradication program, there were more than 350,000 severe cases of the disease worldwide each year. In the year ended June 30, 2008, there were fewer than 2,000 cases contained in just four countries.
Such has been the success of the campaign that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of Microsoft fame has also thrown its considerable resources behind the program, recently awarding Rotary two challenge grants totalling US$355 million, which Rotary has pledged to match with an additional US$200 million, with all of the resulting US$555 million earmarked for polio eradication. Rotary has also played a major role in convincing donor governments to contribute over US$4 billion to the effort.
Rotary International Public Relations General Coordinator Bob Aitken said the "light show" on the sails of the Sydney Opera House will commence at around 8.30 pm on Monday night and continue into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
He said Rotary International is very grateful for the cooperation of the CEO and staff of the Sydney Opera House for making this public awareness exercise possible.
"Similarly, the venue manager of Wharf 8 and Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal have been very helpful in making a secure venue available for the technical beaming of the message by innovative Sydney based company The Electric Canvas", he said.
Bob Aitken urged members of the public wanting to financially support Rotary's final eradication of Polio to contact the Rotary club in their suburb or town. For more information, visit www.rotary.org or contact Rotary International in Australia on 02 9635 3537. Australian Rotary club contacts can be found at www.rotarydownunder.com.au and click on "clubs and districts".