Without context, one is uncertain about whether the statement is good, bad, remarkable, sad, etc. We are mostly guided by the expressions of others. And so with great excitement I would like to tell you that there have been ONLY ten cases of wild polio this year. But let me back that up with context.
Polio was deeply feared before the two cheap and effective vaccines were developed in the 1950’s. But in 1985, there were 387,000 cases in 125 countries. The World Health Organization thought that’s the way it would always be. Enter Rotary with a belief that this was simply a geopolitical logistical problem to solve. And we backed it up with a promise to eradicate polio. Now, a little over 35 years later, we are at ten cases in two countries. Remarkable!
We inspired W.H.O., UNICEF, CDC, Bill Gates, and every government. And in recent years, The Taliban’s distrust of the Afghan government’s ties to the West had been an obstruction for us. But since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, they have begun immunizing millions of children we previously had no access to. Secondly, Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio cases are less than a third of past annual cases since the development of the Novel Oral Polio Vaccine.
As District Polio Chair, I’m a resource for Club Presidents with promotional materials, videos, clothing, and speeches meant to educate and inspire members and thereby making it easier for Presidents to rally club members to give $1500 to The Rotary Foundation/Polio Eradication from whatever fundraising the club does. I hope you’ll give me a call.
Tim Mulcrone
Polio Chair
Rotary District 5950
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