Carl M. Good Addresses Eradicating Polio at the Littleton Rotary Club’s Meeting

At the weekly meeting of the Littleton Rotary Club, Doctor Carl M. Good outlined the tremendous progress made by Rotary International, The World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the worldwide effort to wipe-out polio.

 

Doctor Good explained that Polio Plus was launched as a Rotary International service project in 1985 with the goal of immunizing all of the world’s children and that Rotary's role in polio eradication continues to evolve. Initially its role was that of a catalyst, providing money for vaccine and volunteer support to overcome problems associated with distribution. A Rotary Foundation grant funded a core group of polio experts at the World Health Organization (WHO), who have guided the global program.

 

In more recent years, Polio Plus funds have funded transportation and other operational costs associated with vaccine delivery, surveillance efforts (including laboratory needs) to identify areas where the virus circulates, and training for healthcare workers and volunteers involved in the immunization process.

 

Today, after billions of dollars in expenditures and the volunteer efforts of thousands of doctors, nurses and laypersons, polio can only be found in parts of Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

 

Doctor Good specified compelling reasons why eradicating polo is a goal worth every ounce of effort, “It saves lives.  Experts say if we choose to control polio rather than eradicate it, more than 10 million children under the age of five could be paralyzed by the disease in the next 40 years. We have the tools to end the disease and the means to reach all children. In fact, the new bivalent vaccine successfully targets the two remaining strains of polio in just one dose.”

 

There are economic benefits to eradicating polio, as well. An independent study published in the medical journal, Vaccine, estimates that the $9 billion global investment in a polio-free world will net an economic benefit of $40 billion to $50 billion over the next 20 years.

 

Other benefits are less visible but no less important.  Polio Plus’s polio eradication efforts have established an active disease surveillance network in all countries. This network is supporting other health interventions, including measles vaccinations and the distribution of deworming tablets and bed nets. 

 

In closing, Doctor Good enthusiastically reminded the gathered Rotarians and guests that, “The ability to reach all children with the polio vaccine is proof that Rotary International and its partners can succeed on its next major global health initiative.”

 

The Littleton Rotary Club is a service club made up of men and women from the Littleton area.  The club is a member of Rotary International, one of over 34,000 clubs with over 1.2 million members, worldwide.  Rotary is dedicated to “Service Above Self” and provides volunteers and financial support to each community, each country and the world. 

The Littleton Rotary Club meets every Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. in the dining room at 1 Monarch Drive, off Taylor Street.  If you would like to be a guest and learn more about Rotary, please contact Club President Lehel Reeves at LReeves@wheelstv.net.