In the Chair of the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation (and Rotary International Past President) Barry Rassin's October 2023 Newsletter, Barry asks all of us to renew our commitment to our top humanitarian gold on World Polio Day. Despite these challenges, Barry notes that we are making progress. Poliovirus strains are diminishing, as is the number of affected regions where polio once prevailed. A new vaccine we have introduced reduces the incidence of the circulating vaccinederived virus type 2. He add, "We must have the tenacity to see it to the finish line". He encourages all of us to join our Polio Plus Society and promote Rotary's efforts to eradicate polio form the world. ..........
OUR GOAL IS IN SIGHT
Dear Rotarians, Rotaractors and friends of Rotary,
On October 24, we renew our commitment to our top humanitarian goal for World Polio Day.
This year, let’s remember a young health worker in Pakistan known as Bibi Marjana (Miss Marjana). She braves the snow and cold in the mountains to vaccinate 84 children in rural areas, visiting each home, often miles apart.
Marjana is one of the thousands of frontline workers in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and outbreak areas I consider heroes in the final push to end polio. The work they do, coupled with the vision of our partners and the support you give, is moving mountains.
With Rotary’s partnership, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is agressively pursuing two key goals from its 2022-26 strategy. First, we aim to halt wild poliovirus type 1 transmission. This year, only seven cases have been documented as of this writing. Could this be the year we see
the last of these poliovirus cases? We’re cautiously optimistic that it might.
Second, we aim to report the final case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, or cVDPV2, in outbreak countries. About 80 percent of cVDPV2 cases last year occurred in subnational areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Yemen. We must implement tailored
strategies to stop the virus in these areas.
Other challenges persist , including political tensions, security risks and access issues, and the lasting effect of the pandemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Despite these challenges, we are making progress. Poliovirus strains are diminishing, as is the number of affected regions where polio once prevailed. A new vaccine we have introduced reduces the incidence of the circulating vaccinederived virus type 2.
Rotary is the organization that had the audacity to take on a global effort to protect children everywhere from disability or even death due to polio. We must have the tenacity to see it to the finish line.
What can you do to help us get there, you ask? Join or initiate a PolioPlus Society in your club or district and engage all members in this historic moment. (Editor's Note: District 7070 has a Polio Plus Society. We encourage you to join.) And don’t forget that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation continues to amplify Rotary’s donations to polio eradication with a 2-to-1 match for every dollar.
You can also advocate the cause of polio eradication with governments to secure political and financial support and promote Rotary’s leadership role in all media. (Editor's Note: Please join us, in person or online on Oct 19 for the World Polio Day 2023 LIVE from the Rotary Global Classroom at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario Canada. Barry will be on our panel)
Like Marjana marching up the mountain, we have our goal in sight, and we will keep going until we get there.
BARRY RASSIN
Rotary Foundation trustee chair