Polio is a terrifying disease. It can be fatal, leave victims crippled or paralyzed. There is no cure for it.
Not too long ago, the warm months of summer were filled with terror. Parents could not let their children use community swimming pools or visit crowded sites such as local fairs or special events.
Today, Canada is polio-free. The efforts of American researcher, Jonas Salk, led, in 1955, to the development of Salk vaccine – a method of prevention that saved thousands of lives. But the vaccine had to be injected, which limited its use.
A few years later, an oral vaccine was developed. Just a few drops of vaccine, sometimes administered on a sugar cube, could protect a child or adult from polio.
Rotary International joined the Gates Foundation in the World Polio Eradication program.
Only once before has scientific research enabled mankind to totally eradicate a disease. Now Gates and Rotary would attempt to make polio the second to be abolished. The effort had to be worldwide, because any place where the virus lurked could lead to its reintroduction into polio-free countries.
The emphasis changed from research to implementation to finding and immunizing children in the farthest reaches of the world. It would be an expensive undertaking, but one that would have long-lasting benefits.
Salk’s birthday, Oct. 24 was selected as World Polio Day — a day when Rotary groups across the nation engage in a variety of fundraising activities to promote World Polio Eradication.
Jay Wenger, director of the Gates Foundation, pledged to match every dollar Rotary donates to the WPE with two dollars from the Gates Foundation.
This agreement will provide up to $450 million for polio eradication world-wide.
Wenger has done extensive fieldwork in India, and seen first-hand the terrible results of polio. “There is a feeling of helplessness when you see the victims, especially the children,” he says. “We can’t fix polio once it happens, but we can prevent it from happening.”
The World Health Organization says it will take three years of zero cases of polio before disease-free status can be given world wide.
According to authorities, there are at present only three countries in the world where the polio virus is known to circulate: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
“These are incredibly challenging countries to work in,” Wenger says. “They are so challenging because they have much bigger issues to contend with than polio.
“We can’t forget about those places or deal with them later, because this would mean that we lose against polio. If the virus remains anywhere, it can spread back to those places we have already cleared up,
“We have to extend our efforts to the hardest places in the world, and to the least-reached kids in the world.”
In 1985, Rotary introduced PolioPlus – a program to immunize every child in the world, earning an award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2002.
In 2007, the Gates Foundation announced its first major grant to polio eradication, pledging $100 million to Rotary and promising to match funds raised by Rotarians.
“It’s been just 10 years since that happened — and now we are so close to reaching our goal of complete eradication,” says Summerland Rotary President Chantelle Meriam. “That’s why Rotary members will be out on Oct. 24, asking the generous people of Summerland to help us take that last step forward.
“There will be footsteps on downtown sidewalks, leading to donation sites and volunteers will be on hand between 11:30 and 1:30 p.m. If you miss them, cheques can be sent to Summerland Rotary at Box 232, Summerland, V0H 1Z0, to be added to the world polio elimination fund.”
