If you are older than say 60 or so, you undoubtedly remember getting vaccinated for Polio, and probably knew someone who had been affected by Polio. But most Americans today rarely give Polio a second thought, because the United States has been “Polio Free” since 1979.
On Sunday Oct. 24, Rotarians around the world will celebrate World Polio Eradication Day, an annual holiday celebrated since 1988 by Rotary International to honor Jonas Salk, the developer of the first polio vaccine in 1953.
The Polio virus is highly contagious, attacking the nervous system which can cause total paralysis within hours. Haunting images of rooms filled with patients in ‘Iron Lungs’ to assist breathing are a somber reminder of its devastating impact. With the development of the Salk vaccine, vaccination programs began to eliminate polio around the world, but many countries faced impossible barriers to vaccination coverage.
So in 1979, Rotary International took on the challenge of providing for and coordinating the vaccination of children all over the world. By mobilizing local and international volunteers, Rotary International facilitated oral Polio vaccination days with one single objective – Eradicate Polio Worldwide.
Thus was born the Rotary International “Polio Plus” program, which in 1988 was joined by the WHO, the United States CDC, UNICEF, a vaccine alliance known as GAVI, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, establishing the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
In 1988 Polio was endemic in 125 countries, disabling over 350,000 people every year, mostly children. Today, 99.9% of polio cases have been eliminated in all but two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This translates into more than 19 million people who have not been paralyzed by polio, and 1.5 million more who have not died. This is reason to celebrate, but we are not finished with the fight!
We are “This Close”!
But there are challenges. Polio must be eliminated everywhere for people to be safe from polio anywhere. The political instability and uncertainty in countries where Polio is still endemic, or has only recently been eliminated remain a threat to global polio eradication. The COVID-19 pandemic has further challenged eradication efforts, even as the infrastructure developed to address Polio has actually benefitted local responses to COVID-19 in many resource poor countries.
One of Rotary International’s greatest resources is people – more than 1 million 'Rotarians of action’ in every country have volunteered for Polio Plus, building trust in communities, and collaborating with local and regional health officials. And the Rotary Foundation continues to be one of the largest funders of these efforts having so far contributed more than $2.2 billion toward the eradication of polio.
Wayne Rotarians have generously contributed to the Rotary Foundation’s Polio-Plus efforts, often participating in fundraising efforts over the years. Individual giving by Wayne Rotarians to the Rotary Foundation in support of local and global projects such as Polio Plus in 2020, earned recognition at the annual District Convention for “Every Member” contributing. Wayne’s generosity this year came to over $19,000 for International Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus funds.
Wayne Rotarians continue to promote awareness, because “We are this close” to eliminating this global health threat, but the last mile is always the hardest. So today, we share this story of how far we’ve come, and encourage everyone to learn more about the next great global health victory – the Eradication of Polio.
For more information, ask a Rotarian – or join us 7 a.m. any Wednesday morning at Taco's & More.
