On 24th October 2009 – With polio, our determination must not waver
Message from Glenn E. Estess Sr., Foundation Trustee Chair
On 24th October, we mark World Polio Day. It is a time to reflect on the progress we have made and to strengthen our resolve for the work ahead. It is a time to raise awareness of our efforts to eradicate polio, and to help meet Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge.
We have come a long way. We have reduced the number of polio cases by over 99 percent, from more than 350,000 a year in the 1980s to about 1,650 in 2008. We have brought the number of endemic countries from 125 to 4. And we have vaccinated over two billion children.
We are proud of these accomplishments, and we are closer than ever to achieving our goal of worldwide eradication. But we must recognize that our greatest enemy is complacency. We cannot slacken our efforts now, because as long as there is wild poliovirus anywhere, the disease can easily spread again. The number of cases in endemic countries is down this year, but the number of cases in countries where polio has been reintroduced has increased significantly – a reminder of how polio knows no borders, and how vigilant we must remain.
Polio is still endemic in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Difficult terrain, civil unrest, remote settlements, poor sanitation, and terrible poverty are just some of the obstacles to immunization. But we, and our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, are determined to continue our work with persistence and creativity.
I have been inspired by the incredible strides already made this year. In one 10-day period, a total of 222,270,331 children in 22 countries were immunized against polio. The effort and the commitment are phenomenal. This is a testament to the resolve that has brought us this far – and that will soon bring us to our goal of complete eradication.
Contributed by:
PDG Aziz Memon
Chair: Pakistan National Polio Plus Committee
91, Shahrah-e-Iran, Clifton, Karachi
Pakistan
Cell: 0092 300 825 9595
Tel: Direct 0092 21 587 2368
Fax: Direct 0092 21 587 4659
Website: www.azizmemon.net
