Eradication of Polio in India

Here is a Press Release we submitted to the Osoyoos Times

Rotary International is a Major Player in the Eradication of Polio in India

Osoyoos Helps End Polio in India

For Immediate Release

January 12, 2012

Today marks a special day in global history. India, until recently an epicenter of the wild poliovirus, has gone one full year without recording a new case of the crippling, sometimes fatal, disease.

Rotary has been the leading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative since 1988, along with WHO, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is an enormous contributor to this Initiative by matching every dollar raised. 

On a local level the Osoyoos Rotary Club raises thousands of dollars every year for Rotary International to help support the overarching goal to raise over 200 Million dollars to end Polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria which are the remaining three countries worldwide which desperately need to put an end to this disease.  

Non-endemic countries remain at risk for cases crossing over from endemic countries, and therefore immunizations in India and other endemic and at-risk countries must continue. Neighboring Pakistan, which has reported 189 cases so far for 2011, is a major threat to India’s continued polio-free status. Last year, an outbreak in China, which had been polio-free for a decade, was traced to Pakistan.

Cheryle Richardson, President of the Osoyoos Rotary Club comments “We are pleased to be a part of the success of the Eradication of Polio in India but there is still much work to be done and money to be raised to ensure we reach our 2015 target to eliminate Polio worldwide”. The Osoyoos Rotary Club is involved in a number of fundraising initiatives throughout the year such as the Rotary Golf Tournament. These events raise thousands of dollars for local causes and International causes like the End Polio Now Campaign.

For more information please visit www.rotary.org

To get involved please contact Cheryle Richardson at 250.495.7751.