Rotary international is a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Since 1985 Rotarians across the world have been working tirelessly to rid the world of polio by ensuring universal access to the vaccine. Recently Africa has been certified as wild polio free but the job is not yet complete! The Rotary Club of Ballymena, which has raised almost 15000, hopes to play its part in a final determined push to raise funds to ensure total eradication of polio across the world.
Although tremendous success has been achieved to date there are still two polio endemic areas in the world- Pakistan and Afghanistan. Volunteers often risk their lives to carry out vaccinations. The overriding humanitarian objective to rid the whole world of polio must be achieved. Remaining pockets of resistance must be addressed in order to ensure that this debilitating disease which mainly affects children and which can cause paralysis and even death is eradicated once and for all.
The Rotary Club of Ballymena is appealing for funds which will help contribute towards Rotary's commitment to make the final challenging steps which will make a polio free world a reality. Without achieving total eradication, it is estimated that, within 10 years, as many as 200000 children across the world could succumb to polio. Our project aims to ensure that this will not happen! Widespread vaccination in Pakistan and Afghanistan is urgently required.
Following the eradication of smallpox in 1980, polio would be only the second human disease to be eradicated worldwide. The disease is literally a plane ride away. The work already undertaken has resulted in many parts of the world, including most recently Africa, being declared wild polio free. We must ensure that those areas which have achieved this level of success are protected from any future re-infection. Our appeal programme will help achieve this.
