For those of us old enough to remember, the sound of hearing “polio” brings back major discomfort. The vision that it brings is of babies being crippled for life. Young children crying in agony while living in iron lungs. Some older children were able to get to a point where they
could get out of the iron lung but inevitably had to get back into the iron lung to be able to breathe.


In 1979, the Philippine government and Rotary International agreed to vaccinate 6,000,000 children against polio. This was the basis for starting PolioPlus in 1985 - Rotary International’s effort to eradicate polio worldwide. This section of the District 5840 website will give an overview of the history of PolioPlus and other material related to the effort to eradicate polio worldwide. There is a section that has links
to key websites from Rotary International and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI.)


There is another section that will have new polio case numbers worldwide updated on a regular basis. There is a link to a blog being written and placed on Wordpress blogs. Finally there is a section with links to videos and papers that can be shared, viewed, and discussed in clubs and fundraisers.


Yours in Rotary,
Charlie Wasser
PolioPlus Chair 2020-2021
Rotary District 5840
Rotary Club of Alamo Ranch


Advocate, Donate & Educate to END POLIO NOW & FOREVER!
                                                            19,100,000 Children Saved from the Paralysis of Polio Since 1988                                                                                       
 Total paralysis cases
Year-to-date 2020
 
Total
2019
Total
2018
 
Total
2017
Total
 2016
Globally
85
176
33
22
37
- in endemic countries:
85
176
33
22
37
- in post-endemic countries:
0
0
0
0
0
 Wild Polio cases reported this week:
Pakistan 1, Afghanistan 3, Nigeria 0   
 
2020 Wild Polio Case Breakdown by Country (Green Numbers are 2019 Totals)
Endemic Countries – 56 Pakistan (2019-147), 29 Afghanistan (2019-29),
0 Nigeria (2019-0)
 


ENDGAME STRATEGY FOR 2023
The document gives the current plan to reach total eradication of polio. There was an end date of December 31, 2018 with the previous plan that unfortunately was not met. This new document published in 2019, describes the plan to have total eradication on December 31, 2023. One of the major gating items to completion is the civil strife in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

LINKS TO MAJOR PARTNERS RELATED TO POLIO ERADICATION

Global Polio Eradication Initiative - GPEI

Through PolioPlus, established in 1985, Rotary International was the first to have the vision of a polio-free world. Rotary’s primary responsibilities include fundraising, advocacy, and volunteer recruitment. More than one million Rotary members have volunteered their time and personal resources to polio eradication. Rotary members also provide valuable field support during National Immunization Days through social mobilization and by administering the oral polio vaccine to children.

Launched in 1988 after the World Health Assembly passed a resolution to eradicate polio, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, along with its partners, has helped countries to make huge progress in protecting the global population from this debilitating disease. As a result, global
incidence of polio has decreased by 99.9% since GPEI’s foundation. An estimated 16 million people today are walking who would otherwise have been paralysed by the disease, and more than 1.5 million people are alive, whose lives would otherwise have been lost. Now the task
remains to tackle polio in its last few strongholds and get rid of the final 0.1% of polio cases.


Rotary helped put together the GPEI which is made of the following partners:

- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Rotary International
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance


The following link is to the GPEI website - http://polioeradication.org/

Rotary’s Polio Website
The following link is to Rotary’s website for the PolioPlus effort. It gives a very good history that will make Rotarians proud. The material from the website can be used for club programs as part of the club’s campaign to raise funds. The site can also assist when a Rotaroan is trying to get donations from those not-yet Rotarians and corporate sponsors.

https://www.endpolio.org/

 

POLIOPLUS RESOURCES FOR ROTARIANS, ROTARY CLUBS AND ANYONE INTERESTED IN POLIO ERADICATION

GAVI’s Engagement in Polio Eradication 

GPEI video

Shotatlife.org video

October 24 Worldwide Polio Day

World Health Organization

CHARLIE WASSER’S BLOG ON POLIOPLUS