The Rotary Club of Rushen and Western Mann presented a cheque for £650 raised by members at a charity meal at the Cherry Orchard Hotel in Port Erin for the campaign to eradicate the world of polio.
Rather than have their usual meal at the weekly meeting on February 23, members decided to have a simple meal of soup and bread and contribute the cost they would have paid otherwise to the international Rotary Initiative to end polio.
A Rotary Club of Rushen and Western Mann spokesman said: ‘We are encouraged to see the tangible progress made against polio in 2014, however, until we eliminate polio from its final reservoirs, children everywhere are at risk from this disease. Rotary as an international organisation along with its partners -- will work hard to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable children are kept safe from polio.
‘For 30 years Rotary has been backing the fight to end polio, Rotary clubs worldwide are holding events to raise funds and awareness needed to eradicate this paralyzing and potentially fatal disease – once and for all – the Rotary Club of Rushen & Western Mann is proud to be helping this worthy cause.’
This charity meal follows a succession of significant developments that have brought the world closer to eradicating only the second human disease in history.
In 2014, the entire World Health Organisation-designated Southeast Asia Region (SEARO) was declared polio-free, which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. Polio cases in Africa dropped by nearly 90 per cent.
Rotary launched its flagship PolioPlus programme in 1985, and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since the global initiative began in 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to less than 370 in 2014.
More than 2.5 billion children have been immunised in 122 countries, preventing five million cases of paralysis and 250,000 deaths. Polio today remains endemic in only three countries; Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, although ‘imported’ cases in previously polio-free areas will continue to occur until the virus is finally stopped in the endemic countries.
Through PolioPlus, Rotary across the world has contributed more than $1.3 billion in support, along with securing over $10 billion from donor governments. And through the 2013-18 “End Polio Now: Make History Today Campaign,” every pound Rotary contributes to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. The first Rotary club was founded in Chicago in 1905.
The Rotary Club of Rushen and Western Mann is one of 5 Rotary Clubs on the Island, we cover the South and West of the Isle of Man and currently have 47 members. We play an active and important part in the community life of the island. We meet every Tuesday at the Cherry Orchard in Port Erin. The Club was founded on November 9, 1973, and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2013. Visit {http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=345|this site} for more about the Rotary Club of Rushen and Western Mann and endpolio.org for its efforts to eradicate polio.