On Tuesday, Oct. 24th, World Polio Day, the Milan Rotary Club of will be partnering with Marcos and Hungry Howies for a fundraiser – “Pizza for Polio”. Any pizza orders on this day (carry out or delivery) will see a portion of sales being donated back to Milan Rotary Club of to help eradicate polio worldwide.
The effort hopes to raise money for Rotary International, the volunteer fundraising arm of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative—a public-private partnership that also includes the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A portion of all pizza sales on Tuesday Oct. 24th will go to Milan Rotary Club of toward the end polio now initiative --- to end polio worldwide and raise awareness
This “Pizza for Polio” fundraiser comes at an important time in the fight to eradicate polio, which would be only the second human disease to be eradicated. Case numbers of the disease have never been lower, and only two countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) have never stopped transmission of the wild poliovirus.
However, a funding gap means immunization campaigns are being cut in high-risk countries, leaving children more vulnerable to polio. If polio isn’t stopped now, the disease could stage a comeback, affecting an estimated 200,000 children every year.Rotary, a humanitarian service organization with nearly 34,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas, made polio eradication its top priority in 1985. Rotary has since contributed US$1.2 billion, and its members have logged countless volunteer hours to help immunize more than two billion children in 122 countries.
Overall, remarkable progress has been achieved in the fight against polio. Since 1988, the number of polio cases has been reduced from 350,000 a year to 10 cases so far in 2017. The Americas were declared free from polio in 1994, the Western Pacific region in 2000, and Europe in 2002.
The effort hopes to raise money for Rotary International, the volunteer fundraising arm of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative—a public-private partnership that also includes the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A portion of all pizza sales on Tuesday Oct. 24th will go to Milan Rotary Club of toward the end polio now initiative --- to end polio worldwide and raise awareness
This “Pizza for Polio” fundraiser comes at an important time in the fight to eradicate polio, which would be only the second human disease to be eradicated. Case numbers of the disease have never been lower, and only two countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) have never stopped transmission of the wild poliovirus.
However, a funding gap means immunization campaigns are being cut in high-risk countries, leaving children more vulnerable to polio. If polio isn’t stopped now, the disease could stage a comeback, affecting an estimated 200,000 children every year.Rotary, a humanitarian service organization with nearly 34,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas, made polio eradication its top priority in 1985. Rotary has since contributed US$1.2 billion, and its members have logged countless volunteer hours to help immunize more than two billion children in 122 countries.
Overall, remarkable progress has been achieved in the fight against polio. Since 1988, the number of polio cases has been reduced from 350,000 a year to 10 cases so far in 2017. The Americas were declared free from polio in 1994, the Western Pacific region in 2000, and Europe in 2002.
A highly infectious disease, polio still strikes children mainly under the age of five. Polio can cause paralysis and sometimes death. There is no cure for polio, but for as little as 60 cents worth of oral vaccine, a child can be protected from the disease for life.
Story written by Milan Rotary for Facebook invite.
