Posted: 14-March-2008 at 8:37am | IP Logged

Rotary disburses first US$40 million from Gates Foundation grant 

 

 

top photo) Rotary Foundation Trustee Carolyn Jones of Alaska, USA, who was in India for a district conference, administers oral polio vaccine to a child during an NID. Photo courtesy of Carolyn Jones.

Salim Habayeb, WHO’s representative in India, calls Rotary International “a cherished partner” and says the funding “will ensure the continuation of high-quality surveillance and the sustainability of technical assistance.”

“This tremendous support comes at a crucial time for the polio eradication effort,” says Gianni Murzi, UNICEF’s representative in India.

Since the grant distribution, Rotarians have continued their hands-on support to maximize the push to end polio. A team of 54 Rotarians and friends from Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States helped promote and carry out India’s National Immunization Days (NIDs) in February, which reached more than 170 million children.

Joined by members of the Rotary Club of Delhi-West and nearly 100 students from a local Rotary club-sponsored school, the team took part in a rally in Sohna to promote the NIDs. Among the students, who all wore PolioPlus caps, were many polio victims, as was one of the Delhi-West Rotarians.

The team worked hand in hand with community members throughout the NIDs. “Along with us was a young girl, a Muslim, of about 17 years,” Elias Thomas, of the Rotary Club of Sanford-Springvale, Maine, USA, reports on the team’s blog (http://rotarydreamteam-india2008.blogspot.com). “She was a member of the Interact club in her town and served as our translator. There were always local volunteers who were dispensing the vaccine, but they were so pleased to have us assist them.”

“It is the most amazingly exhilarating and dramatically humbling experience,” reports Mark Brown, of the Rotary Club of St. John’s Northwest, Newfoundland, Canada. “Immediately, we were poured on by people wanting their children vaccinated. No time to ponder. Just two drops in each child’s mouth and a permanent marker on the finger to show they’d been done. The mothers were so happy their child was treated.…We met some amazing Indian Rotarians today.”

“Now is the time to step up the momentum to get polio out of India forever,” says Deepak Kapur, chair of India’s PolioPlus committee. “Communication is necessary in getting families to understand the benefits of immunization, and is a critical piece of the overall strategy to make that happen.”

Posted: 27-March-2008 at 2:23pm | IP Logged

Strong immunization coverage of children living in the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan is critical to both countries’ efforts to end polio. "This is a virus that does not respect borders," said Dr. Rudolf Tangermann, a medical officer with WHO’s polio eradication initiative, following Afghanistan’s National Immunization Days (NIDs) in 2007. "These two countries cannot eradicate polio in isolation."

Dr. Ali Ahmed Zahed, a provisional member of the Rotary Club of Jalalabad, heads up polio immunization efforts in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces, where WHO considers endemic transmission of the virus unlikely. He has played an instrumental role in helping to carry out his country’s NIDs, including those held 9-11 March.

Stephen Brown, past governor of District 5340 (California, USA), and Fary Moini, a fellow member of the Rotary Club of La Jolla Golden Triangle, have led several humanitarian projects in Afghanistan and participated in NIDs there. Brown is impressed with the Afghan medical community’s high level of organization in support of polio eradication.

"Many individuals are involved and they keep very good records regarding not only the number of immunizations but, more importantly, the refusals or missed homes," he reported in his online journal. 

Afghanistan’s March NIDs reached about 6.9 million children. However, fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security forces prevented immunization of all children targeted by the effort.

Vaccinating children and keeping track of who has been immunized is a challenge in a country without a census and where families, especially in the southern region, are constantly on the move to avoid danger. "In the morning you can go in [a village], but in the afternoon you can’t," says Dr. Rahmatullah Kamwak, who works in support of WHO efforts in southern Afghanistan.

Nevertheless, courageous volunteers armed with oral polio vaccine do an extraordinary job of finding children and ensuring they are protected against the crippling disease. The volunteers create a kind of mobile medical record as they work, staining children’s fingers with colored markers to verify they’ve received the vaccine and writing notes in chalk on the doors of mud-brick dwellings to indicate households that have been reached.

"[Afghanistan’s] polio campaign is nothing short of heroic," says Martin Bell, UNICEF’s ambassador for humanitarian emergencies. "It is setting an example to the world of what can be achieved under the most dire circumstances. . . . If Afghans could eradicate polio from their country in a time of war, what could they accomplish in a time of peace?"

Posted: 04-April-2008 at 1:20pm | IP Logged

 

 

A nomadic child in Somalia is immunized against polio. Health officials identified and mapped routes used by nomadic populations, and set up vaccination points at key gathering sites to ensure coverage of this highly at-risk group of children. Photo by World Health Organization/Ahmed Tajudin.

In a triumph over violence, poverty, and poor infrastructure, Somalia has once again become polio-free. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) announced on 25 March that the East African nation hasn’t reported a case of polio since a year ago. Although it eradicated the disease in 2002, Somalia became reinfected in 2005 by poliovirus originating in Nigeria, resulting in an outbreak of 228 cases.

Innovative approaches tailored to conflict areas were pivotal in conquering polio in Somalia. More than 10,000 volunteers and health workers used several doses of monovalent vaccines to immunize children in insecure areas in a short period. With strong community support, the effort succeeded in reaching more than 1.8 million children under age five across one of the most dangerous countries on earth.

“This truly historic achievement shows that polio can be eradicated everywhere, even in the most challenging and difficult settings,” says Dr. Hussein A. Gezairy, director of the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office.

One of Somalia’s volunteers and health workers is Ali Mao Moallim, the last person on earth to contract smallpox — the first disease eradicated worldwide — in 1977. Working with the World Health Organization, he has traveled extensively in his country to immunize children against polio and promote community support for immunization campaigns. “Somalia was the last country with smallpox,” he says. “I wanted to help ensure that we would not be the last place with polio too.”

“Somalia beat polio in the midst of more widespread conflict and poverty than that affecting Afghanistan and Pakistan,” says Dr. Maritel Costales, a UNICEF senior health adviser in New York, who cited the challenges of overcoming widespread insecurity and large population movements in a country with no central government. “But Somalia shows that when communities are engaged, children everywhere can be reached.”

Afghanistan and Pakistan, which together accounted for 5 percent of all polio cases in 2007, could be the first of the four remaining endemic countries — the other two are India and Nigeria — to end polio.

Consistent financial commitment continues to be crucial to polio eradication. Rotary International, the top private-sector contributor and volunteer arm of the GPEI, has contributed US$9.2 million for polio eradication in Somalia and $700 million worldwide since 1985. The global effort faces a shortage of $525 million for 2008-09, funding urgently needed to fight the disease in the remaining endemic countries and protect children in high-risk polio-free areas.

“Somalia clearly shows that the tailored tools and tactics of the intensified eradication effort are working,” says Mohamed Benmejdoub, chair of Rotary’s Eastern Mediterranean PolioPlus Committee. “A polio-free world is a feasible public health goal and a global public good. I urge governments across the world — and in particular the G-8 countries — to rapidly make available the necessary resources. Together, we can ensure that no child need ever again suffer the terrible pain of lifelong polio paralysis.”

Posted: 08-April-2008 at 7:00am | IP Logged

Check out the three-page site at www.rotary.org/endpolio. The new site will be marketed throughout North America starting this month. All funds raised will go directly to The Rotary Foundation in support of polio eradication.

Rotarians should continue to contribute through the Member Access Portal at www.rotary.org.

Posted: 24-May-2008 at 8:56am | IP Logged

Rotarians, health care providers rise to Rotary’s challenge

 

 

<LINK href="/_wpresources/RadEditorSharePoint/4.3.2.0__1f131a624888eeed/RadControls/Editor/CssEditor.css" type=Function undefinedrel=stylesheet target="_blank">From left: McKay; Sherman Health Board Chair Rick Jakle; Sherman Hospital Board Chair Terry Dunning; Wilkinson; and Provena Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation Board Member Jim Flahaven, Executive Director Bonnie Emberton, and Development Associate Sister June Does

Two Chicago-area health care providers joined the Rotary Club of Elgin, Illinois, USA, in helping to meet Rotary’s US$100 Million Challenge. The Elgin club raised $40,000, and Provena Saint Joseph Hospital and Sherman Health each contributed $5,000. Elgin club president Michael McKay presented a check for $50,000 to RI President Wilfrid Wilkinson at the club’s 10 March meeting.

“While Provena Saint Joseph Hospital is deeply committed to the communities we are privileged to serve as a faith-based, mission-driven health care organization, our commitment to provide healing and hope transcends far beyond the Elgin area,” said Bill Brown,president and CEO of Provena Health’s northern Illinois region. “It is an honor to partner with highly regarded organizations like Rotary International and Sherman Health on such a worthy cause.”  

“Rotary International’s polio eradication effort has been one of the great success stories in world health,” said Rick Floyd, president of Sherman Health, a network of suburban Chicago medical facilities. “We are pleased to join with Provena Saint Joseph Hospital in contributing to complete victory over polio.”

Earlier this year, McKay approached Brown and Floyd with the objective of creating a partnership to help support Rotary’s challenge. RI is matching the joint contribution at 50 cents on the dollar through PolioPlus Partners for a total of $75,000.

“The Elgin partnership that has formed to assist this global objective is a true testimony of the concern and compassion of both Provena Saint Joseph Hospital and Sherman Health for the health of individuals worldwide,” McKay said.

Wilkinson thanked the Elgin club and the health care providers for their generous support, and he vowed that Rotary is committed to the fight against polio, adding, “I think the end is getting very close.”

Posted: 18-June-2008 at 6:54am | IP Logged

Rotary kicks off major fundraising drive to eradicate polio

Contact: Vivian Fiore at 847-866-3234; vivian.fiore@rotary.org or Rotary Convention Press Center at 213/765-4628/4629/4630 
Rotary International News -- 17 June 2008

World Health Organization declares polio eradication top operational priority  

LOS ANGELES (June 17, 2008) -- In the final push to rid the world of a crippling and potentially fatal disease that has plagued humankind throughout history, Rotary International today launched its US$100 Million Challenge, a fundraising effort to end polio worldwide.

Funds raised will match, dollar-for-dollar, a challenge grant recently awarded to Rotary by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- a funding agreement that will provide $200 million to the global health initiative over the next three years. Rotary is also expanding its reach by establishing a website to accept donations from individuals outside the organization interested in helping eradicate polio: www.rotary.org/endpolio

Since 1985, ending polio has been Rotary's top philanthropic goal.  Since then, polio cases have been slashed by 99 percent worldwide. "While most of the world is polio-free, this vaccine-preventable disease still threatens children in parts of Africa and South Asia," said Robert Scott, chair of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. "And because polio is a virus that moves from child-to-child, it is capable of re-emerging anywhere in the world if we let down our guard. Rotary is committed to eradicating this disease once and for all."

"Rotary International is a global leader in the fight to eradicate polio, and I have no doubt that Rotarians worldwide will rise to this challenge," said Dr. Tachi Yamada, President of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program. "With Rotary leading the charge, no child will have to live in fear of polio and the world will see that by working together we have the ability to defeat a terrible disease."

As part of a joint keynote address by the leaders of the spearheading organizations of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to an international audience of 20,000 Rotary members at the volunteer service organization’s convention in Los Angeles, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Margaret Chan said, "Today, I am making polio eradication the top operational priority of the WHO. We have resolved the technical challenges to polio eradication, but we still need to overcome the remaining logistical and financial challenges to delivering the vaccine to every child.”    

Polio eradication -- which hinges on vaccinating all children under the age of five years -- is seen as a model and a test for reaching children worldwide with other benefits, whether health or development-related. "It's not just about eradicating polio," Dr. Chan continued. "It's about our ability as a society to reach all children to attain the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals." 

"Rotary’s $100 Million Challenge is a continuation of their longstanding commitment to protect every child from this devastating disease," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "If not for the generosity, passion and leadership of Rotary members worldwide, it is safe to say that we would not be at the point we are today." 

Since the launch of the GPEI in 1988, when polio paralyzed more than 350,000 children in 125 countries, cases have been reduced to 1,307 in 2007, and just four countries remain polio endemic (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan). A two-year intensified effort was started in 2007 to eliminate the last vestiges of polio in these remaining areas. Since then, polio has been stopped under extreme conditions -- conflict-ridden Somalia is now polio-free and the most endemic part of India has seen a dramatic decline in cases (from 520 in 2006 to one so far this year).

"The progress made in some of the most challenging areas of the world proves that with enough commitment and support, we can end polio worldwide," said Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF. "We hope that the commitment from the private sector will challenge other donors to step up and make sure we have the resources needed to eradicate polio." 

As the volunteer arm and top private sector contributor to the GPEI, Rotary has contributed US$700 million since 1985 -- a figure that will increase to $850 million when polio is eradicated -- along with countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries. 

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the CDC and UNICEF.  The Initiative currently faces a funding gap for 2008-09 of US$490 million. 

Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary’s global membership is approximately 1.2 million men and women who belong to more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.

For more information visit: www.rotary.org or www.polioeradication.org

For those interested in helping Rotary eradicate polio visit: www.rotary.org/endpolio

Posted: 19-June-2008 at 7:06am | IP Logged

Drive to end polio gets huge boost from WHO

By Jenny Llakmani 
Rotary International News -- 18 June 2008

The drive to eradicate polio will have the full operational power of the World Health Organization behind it, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan announced at the RI Convention in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Rotarians in the plenary hall cheered as Chan continued: "I am making polio eradication the organization’s top operational priority on a most urgent, if not an emergency, basis. "

In a historic moment, Chan was joined at the plenary session by the heads of the other spearheading partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative: Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF; and Robert S. Scott, chair of The Rotary Foundation’s Board of Trustees and Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee. It was the first time leaders of all four partners have appeared together on stage and given a joint address.

US$100 Million Challenge

In introducing Chan, Gerberding, and Veneman, Scott officially launched Rotary’s US$100 Million Challenge, a three-year fundraising effort to match a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Scott emphasized that polio eradication will remain Rotary’s top goal until the job is finished. After outlining the dramatic reduction in the number of polio cases and polio-endemic countries since 1988, Scott challenged the assembled Rotarians: "Who says we can’t eradicate polio? "

Calling the Gates Foundation grant a "tremendous honor," he asked each Rotary club to commit to an annual donation of $1,000 for the next three years.

"I heard of one club yesterday that’s going to give $10,000 a year," he said. "That’s what we need! "

Why 1,313 is more than a number

Gerberding described Rotary as an extraordinary pillar of a dream partnership that brings out the best in all four organizations. Stating that 1,313 children were infected with polio in 2007, she called on Rotarians to take that number and turn it into something positive.

"Those children aren’t just numbers," she said. "They’re sentinels of responsibility. We have not just a health responsibility, but a moral responsibility to protect future generations from this disease."

Gerberding asked those who can to contribute $1,313 to the eradication initiative. "If you can’t contribute money,” she continued, "then contribute 1,313 minutes of your time to volunteer in the effort to eradicate polio. If you don’t have time, give 1,313 words to motivate others and help inspire the commitment we need to get this job done."

All three of the global health leaders stressed Rotarians’ unique part in the eradication initiative. Veneman praised Rotary for playing a crucial role in the immunizations of two billion children since 1988. "UNICEF is proud to be your partner," she said.

Rotarians urged to continue the fight

Chan noted that Rotary is famous in polio circles for its steadfast commitment and determination. Through the respect and trust they have earned, she said, "Rotarians can open doors at the highest political levels, and you can open the doors of homes at the grassroots level."

Stressing that polio is in retreat, Chan assured Rotarians of her personal commitment to eradication, and urged them to continue the fight. To wild applause, she said, "I ask those of you representing Rotary in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan to do even more. You have been the engines of polio eradication in your countries, and I thank you. But I need you to do more. I challenge you to raise the political stakes even higher, as I am doing with heads of state and political leaders. Political leaders must be mobilized and held fully accountable."

Chan ended her passionate address by thanking Rotarians for "your steadfast commitment to ridding the world of an ancient disease that has destroyed so many childhoods and broken so many hearts. Together," she said, "we will bring this to an end, forever."

Posted: 19-June-2008 at 10:22am | IP Logged

Health leaders reaffirm commitment to ending polio

Rotary International News -- 18 June 2008 

Citing the dramatic decrease in type-1 polio cases in India as an indication that polio can be eradicated, Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, announced on 18 June that WHO’s top operational priority is to rid the world of polio. 

“This is the best opportunity to finish the job,” Chan said during a joint press conference at the 2008 RI Convention in Los Angeles. “We will be mobilizing within the organization to double our efforts on the ground.” 

Also answering questions from the media were WHO’s partners in the global eradication initiative: Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention; Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF; and Robert Scott, chair of The Rotary Foundation.

Learn more

• Contribute to stopping polio
• Read about Chan's convention speech
• Read about a covention keynote speech by Tadataka Yamada, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program
• See more videos from the 2008 RI Convention in Los Angeles

Posted: 19-July-2008 at 7:27am | IP Logged

G8 renews commitments to polio eradication

At their 8-9 July summit meeting in Japan, the G8 nations agreed to "maintain momentum towards the historical achievement of eradicating polio." 

To do so, their joint statement continued, "We will meet our previous commitments to maintain or increase financial contributions to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative [GPEI], and encourage other public and private donors to do the same."

Together, the G8 countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- account for more than half of all funding of the GPEI. The initiative is led by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF.

The G8 first placed polio eradication on its summit agenda in 2002. It has renewed its commitment to eradication at every summit since then, but not all member countries have completed their financial contributions.

In addition to raising funds, G8 countries work as a group to advocate broad support for ending polio. Advocacy by G8 leaders for the four remaining polio-endemic countries -- Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan -- is critical to ensure eradication of the disease. 

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation welcomed the G8’s renewed commitment to finishing polio. Following release of the G8’s 2008 summit communiqué, the Gates Foundation stated, "In recognition of the G8’s continued attention to polio eradication, the foundation will commit at least US$150 million to fight polio this year. This is in addition to the $250 million we have committed to date toward polio eradication efforts." 

Finishing polio worldwide remains Rotary’s top goal. Vital to helping achieve that goal is Rotary’s US$100 Million Challenge, the three-year funding effort to match the Gates Foundation’s $100 million grant to The Rotary Foundation for polio eradication.

Contribute  to ending polio now.