Victory is in sight, but the fight against polio must continue, members of the Fergus-Elora Rotary Club heard at their luncheon meeting on Aug. 27.
The club has been raising money for years, along with Rotary Clubs across Ontario and Canada, to eradicate polio across the globe.
Club members were told the goal of eradicating polio by 2018 is in sight, but they were urged not to give up the fight.
“If we stop now polio will come back with a vengeance,” past Rotary district governor Ian Ferguson told members at the luncheon at the Fergus Curling Club.
Cambridge North Rotarian Hajra Wilson, district chair of the Polio Plus Campaign, said much has been accomplished since the campaign first started about 25 years ago.
When it was launched there were 125 countries registered as having polio, a paralyzing virus that impacts children. Today that number, according to Wilson, has dropped to three – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
“Rotary is going to end polio,” she said.
Funding for the campaign has come from Rotary in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and governments including Canada.
Wilson said today there are about 223 cases of polio in the three countries. “The numbers are coming down, but we can’t rest on our laurels,” she told club members.
Countries previously registered as having polio, must show they have been polio free for three consecutive years to come off the list. Wilson said India is in the process of being dropped from the list.
Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong joined the other guest speakers at the luncheon to update members about the federal government’s efforts to end polio.
“You as Rotarians have shown real leadership in eradicating polio around the world,” Chong said.
The MP pointed out the federal government decided to contribute funds to the effort in 1988, making Canada the first country to commit to the campaign.
Chong said the commitment continues with the federal government pledge to donate $250 million over the next six years to polio eradication.
Fight not over
“The fight is not over,” Chong added. “The disease could exponentially spread across the world. We are getting near the end game; 2018 is the goal set to eradicate polio across the planet.”
He continued, “In five short years we have a chance to eliminate this very terrible disease.
“The real risk is if we let our foot off the gas and don’t go down that final road, this thing could explode.”
The Fergus-Elora Rotary Club issued certificates to its speakers.
“Whenever our club hosts a speaker, we thank that speaker by presenting him or her with a certificate that states that 40 children will be inoculated with polio vaccine as a way of thanking the speaker for appearing before our club,” public relations chairman Dave Beynon told the Advertiser.
“These inoculations are part of a larger worldwide effort with the goal of eradicating polio completely.”
