PolioPlus
Posted by Dave Hall
I was reading the stats on our fight against polio the other day and I started wondering why we call it PolioPlus. I honestly thought it referred to the way we were stressing the eradication effort, and that it meant we needed to do more (hence the "plus") as we continued the fight. Wrong!!!
While we need to do that, the answer is far more exciting; it means that the Polio campaign is not only fighting polio, but other terrible viruses and illnesses as well - its Polio PLUS these other illnesses. Initially, the add-ons were five terrible childhood diseases - measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus.
Soon, however, more illnesses were being targeted for attention, the UN began tracking other key health issues, and the technology to transport the vaccines so critical to solving the problems posed by these diseases began to evolve. Now, we have cold boxes to extend the life of a vaccine, boxes that can travel to the furthest most remote site to reach a child who might otherwise not survive to see his 20th birthday.
So back in 1985 when we started this campaign to eradicate polio who could have foreseen just how dramatic an impact we as Rotarians could have in our world. This is the kind of impact that should both excite us and challenge us to go further as we continue to live our motto "Service Above Self" !!!
In the Spirit of Rotary,
Dave
Update! We've done it! Rotary's Challenge has reached $200 million
Rotarians have now raised about $202.6 million for Rotary's Challenge. By the time the world is certified polio-free, Rotary's contributions to the global polio eradication effort will exceed $1.2 billion (to date, our club has contributed $98,914). This constitutes nearly 14 percent of all contributions to the global budget through 2010 and represents approximately 66 percent of private sector contributions to the initiative.
Soon, however, more illnesses were being targeted for attention, the UN began tracking other key health issues, and the technology to transport the vaccines so critical to solving the problems posed by these diseases began to evolve. Now, we have cold boxes to extend the life of a vaccine, boxes that can travel to the furthest most remote site to reach a child who might otherwise not survive to see his 20th birthday.
So back in 1985 when we started this campaign to eradicate polio who could have foreseen just how dramatic an impact we as Rotarians could have in our world. This is the kind of impact that should both excite us and challenge us to go further as we continue to live our motto "Service Above Self" !!!
In the Spirit of Rotary,
Dave
Update! We've done it! Rotary's Challenge has reached $200 million
Rotarians have now raised about $202.6 million for Rotary's Challenge. By the time the world is certified polio-free, Rotary's contributions to the global polio eradication effort will exceed $1.2 billion (to date, our club has contributed $98,914). This constitutes nearly 14 percent of all contributions to the global budget through 2010 and represents approximately 66 percent of private sector contributions to the initiative.