Our heartfelt thanks to Suzi Howe and Scott Rainey for being our guest speakers during October and for reminding us of the incredible role Rotarians have played in the worldwide fight against polio.
What began with a Rotary immunization project in the Philippines in 1979 grew into PolioPlus in 1985 and helped lead to the creation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988.
Today, after decades of vaccinations, advocacy, fundraising, partnerships, and countless volunteer hours, polio cases worldwide have been reduced by 99.9%.
But the final fraction may be the most important.
As long as polio exists anywhere, the possibility of its spread remains. Rotary states that if eradication efforts were abandoned, within 10 years the disease could once again paralyze as many as 200,000 children every year.
We owe it to the generations of Rotarians who began this mission, to the Rotarians carrying it forward today, and most importantly, to the children of tomorrow, to finish what we started.
Thank you, Suzi and Scott, for your service, leadership, and for reminding us that we are not finished until polio is gone for good.
End Polio Now.