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Central NY Rotarians Launch Campaign To Eradicate Polio from the World Rotary District 7150, encompassing 47 Rotary Clubs across Central New York, is continuing a three-year campaign to eradicate polio from the world. Polio, a crippling and often fatal disease no longer present in the U.S., still plagues some areas of the globe. Because of its priority effort to vaccinate children wherever polio strikes, Rotary International this year received a $100 million matching grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to finish the job. “Central New York Rotarians are committed to raising $50,000 a year for three years to help meet that $100 million challenge,” announced 2008-09 District Governor Larry Calabrese. “We’re joining Rotary districts around the world in this campaign to lower child mortality and make our world polio-free.” The District Polio Campaign Chair, Mike Occhipinti, is a polio survivor himself. “Ninety nine percent of the world is polio-free, but it’s the last one percent that is the most difficult,” Occhipinti said. “India, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan are areas where outbreaks of polio still maim or kill children. Mobilizing vaccination teams, getting refrigerated vaccine to remote areas, and overcoming geographical, political, religious and cultural barriers are daunting challenges, both financially and operationally. That’s why,” he added, “Bill and Melinda Gates have given us $100 million and have asked us to raise another $100 million, and finally make the world polio-free.” Occhipinti said his committee was raising some money at the district level and at the same time was asking each club to raise $1,000 a year for three years to help meet the district’s $150,000 commitment. He explained that clubs
would be raising dollars in a variety of ways: “Young people can make a difference by collecting coins in ‘Pennies for Polio’ canisters. We’d like to see this happen during ‘Make a Difference Week’, the last week in October. For every $1.20 that school children raise, “we’ll be able to provide vaccine for two children; we’ll be able to save two lives. For every $1,000 that corporate sponsors provide, “we’ll be able to provide vaccine for 833 children. So the people and companies of Central New York really can make a difference,” Occhipinti said. Anyone interested in joining with Rotary to eradicate polio may contact a local Rotary Club or District Polio Chair Occhipinti at 315-337-2405.
Read the most recent news here on PPP Coordinator Dan Mooer's website. Read the super news about the Gates Foundation & Rotary Foundation collaborative Polio eradication donations here! The Rotary Foundation's PolioPlus Program PolioPlus –the most ambitious program in Rotary's history, is the volunteer arm of the global partnership dedicated to eradicating polio. For more than 20 years, Rotary has led the private sector in the global effort to rid the world of this crippling disease. Today, PolioPlus and its role in the initiative is recognized worldwide as a model of public-private cooperation in pursuit of a humanitarian goal. Rotarians have mobilized by the hundreds of thousands to ensure that children are immunized against this crippling disease and that surveillance is strong, despite the poor infrastructure, extreme poverty, and civil strife of many countries. Since the PolioPlus Program’s inception in 1985, more than two billion children have received oral polio vaccine. To date, 210 countries,
territories and areas around the world are polio free and 134 of these
have been certified. As of June 2007, Rotary has committed more
than $633 million to global polio eradication.
2006-07 expenditures:
$23.7 million. (includes PolioPlus Partners grants) “Rotary’s PolioPlus
program is a shining example of the achievements made possible by
cooperation between the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations.”
PolioPlus Partners is a program that allows
Rotarians to participate in the polio eradication effort by contributing
to specific social mobilization and surveillance activities in polio-endemic
countries. As of 30 June 2007, over 6,000 clubs in 502 districts have contributed
to 470 PolioPlus Partners projects, supporting National Immunization
Days and other polio eradication activities around the world. What exactly is polio?
Help
eradicate polio
If polio isn’t
eradicated, the world will continue to live under the threat of the
disease. More than 10 million children will be paralyzed in the next
40 years if the world fails to capitalize on its US$4 billion global
investment in eradication. Challenges
to polio eradication
Health experts agree that these primary challenges
must be overcome in order to reach the goal of polio eradication:
2007-08
PolioPlus Partners Challenge Progress – Polio Eradication IS Realistic:
The technical
feasibility of eradicating wild-type poliovirus was confirmed in October
1999 when the last case of paralytic polio due to wild poliovirus
type 2 (1 of 3 types) was detected anywhere in the world. By 2002,
the feasibility of eradication was reaffirmed by certification of
eradication of all 3 wild poliovirus types in three of the six World
Health Organization (WHO) Regions.1 The Case – Completing Polio Eradication:
In 2006, only four countries still had wild-type
poliovirus, limited to small geographic regions of Afghanistan, India,
Nigeria, and Pakistan. This war on polio will not be won until the
last case of polio is gone.2 This must be done as quickly as possible. PolioPlus: Rotary launched the PolioPlus program in
1985 and contributions to the PolioPlus Fund continue to support the
most essential components of polio eradication activities in our partnership
with the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), and UNICEF. With Rotary’s community-based network
worldwide, Rotary is the volunteer arm of the global partnership dedicated
to eradicating polio. PolioPlus Partners: In 1995, a sub-program of PolioPlus, the
PolioPlus Partners program (PPP), was developed to allows individuals,
Rotary clubs, and districts the opportunity to directly contribute
to polio eradication projects submitted by fellow Rotarians in polio-endemic,
importation, and high-risk countries through the PPP Open Projects
List. The Need – PolioPlus Partners in 2007-08:
Contributions
to PPP go directly to Rotarians conducting social mobilization and
surveillance activities in the polio-endemic, importation, and high
risk countries. Social mobilization is organized community activities
designed to help make immunization activities successful. Rotarians
play a critical role in these activities by using PPP contributions
to purchase: - Media and posters to communicate when and where the immunization
activities will occur. These tools are provided through the PolioPlus Partners program.
Additional funding of at least US$5 million will be needed to purchase
these tools in 2007-08. The Incentive – Matching Funds for PolioPlus
Partners: Since
the Polio Eradication Fundraising Campaign (PEFC) ended in 2005, fundraising
for PPP, in addition to PolioPlus, remains a priority. The Trustees
of The Rotary Foundation recognize the significant funding needs for
PPP and will continue to match both cash and District Designated Funds
(DDF) contributions US$.50 for every US$1.00; up to US $1 million
in 2007-08. This matching opportunity is an incentive for individuals,
clubs, and districts to make a contribution to PolioPlus Partners
in 2007-08. The 2007-08 PolioPlus Partners Challenge
– What Can Rotarians Do? Funding
for PolioPlus Partners is essential to help all Rotarians achieve
the goal of a polio-free world. To help meet the significant and ongoing
funding needs, we are extending a Challenge to all Rotarians, clubs,
and districts to become 2007-08 PolioPlus Partners: 1. Asking for 100% participation from all Rotary districts
to allocate a minimum of 10% of their available DDF. 2. Asking all Rotary clubs and districts, Interact and Rotaract
clubs to have a club program for PolioPlus Partners by March 2008. 3. Requesting district leaders to encourage all clubs chartered
after 1 July 2003 to consider making a club contribution, having a
fundraiser, or making individual contributions to PolioPlus Partners. 4. Requesting zone, district, and club leaders to encourage
new members after 1 July 2003 to contribute and become a part of Rotary’s
number one goal of global polio eradication. 5. Encouraging all Rotarians that view PolioPlus as their primary
Rotary interest to make another contribution to PolioPlus Partners. With everyone’s continuing support,
we shall demonstrate our resolve and achieve
Polio
A
Rotarian immunizes a child against polio. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo
by Rotary Images. Decades ago, polio outbreaks were a constant
threat around the world. After the introduction of polio vaccines
by Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin and a steadfast immunization effort,
these outbreaks became part of history in most of the world.
Contribute to stopping polio
The biggest obstacles to eradicating polio are the underfunding
of the global initiative and insufficient political commitment from
the remaining polio-affected countries. Rotary International believes
the primary source for additional funds can and should be governments
of polio-free industrialized countries. Your
contribution to Polio Contribute to PolioPlus Partners PolioPlus Partners
allows individuals, Rotary clubs, and districts to support urgent
social mobilization and surveillance projects submitted by Rotarians
in polio-endemic, importation, and high-risk countries. In 2006-07,
the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation allocated US$1 million to match,
on a first-come, first-served basis, cash contributions to PolioPlus
Partners at a level of US$0.50 for each $1 contributed. Contribute
to the PolioPlus Fund
The PolioPlus
Fund provides global-level funds through Trustee-reviewed grants to
the initiative based on strategic priorities. What your gift can do
*All contributions
to PolioPlus and PolioPlus Partners are eligible for Paul Harris Fellow
Recognition. Give through Rotary Friends of Rotary
are welcome to add their support to Rotary’s number-one goal. Contribute
to stopping polio today. Four key strategies for stopping poliovirus transmission:
Generous contributions
to PolioPlus help fund these activities and bring us closer to polio
eradication. Contribute
to stopping polio today. Progress in curbing type 1 poliovirus continues
- Wide-scale use of monovalent oral polio vaccine type 1 (mOPV1) continues
to have a significant impact on curbing transmission of this particular
virus serotype. Progress in curbing type 1 poliovirus continues. From
www.polioeradication.org -
29 August 2007
The exhibit was transferred
from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History
in August, to be permanently displayed at the Warm Springs Institute,
where former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought treatment
for polio. Call the Warm Springs
Institute at 706-655-5666 for more information.
Download Application
to Contribute & Receive Paul Harris Award
Through Foundation grants and programs, Rotarians and other
contributors can help change the world. They can finance a well
for a village that lacks clean water, improve the environment, or
provide scholarships to educate the next generation. The grants
and programs available to Rotarians allow them to realize Rotary’s
humanitarian mission throughout the world, including its number-one
goal of eradicating polio. View 2000-2005 District Polio News |
