Polio: The New Challenge

Post Polio Summit 2012, Past Rotary International President Rajendra K. Saboo exhorts us all to meet new challenges 

Dear friends,

The Polio Summit is behind us, leaving its mark on our memory pad.  Most of you were there to be a part of this historic occasion which was truly Divinely blessed when the official letter from W.H.O. arrived taking India off the list of Polio endemic countries.  Your participation meant much as it did for other  Rotarians who came from different districts. 

What was an idea 18 months back has become a reality and we want to thank our President Kalyan Banerjee for the guidance  and encouragement he gave for holding up this Summit.  It has brought a new dimension to the bonding between the government and Rotary, also encompassing our other global and local partners.  It is true that the media has not given much recognition to Rotary for this event.  I am sure media will eventually see the role that Rotary has played and will bring the facts to the eyes of the people.  Those who were part of the Summit fully recognize that.

Whereas Polio Summit ended with compliments flowing all over to Rotary and the role that Rotarians played in setting the goal of Polio-free world and working towards it, my friends, it has opened new challenges for us. The "Delhi Commitment" which spells out the commitment that each Rotarian present  including you, needs to be worked upon until the ultimate objective is achieved. 

I am, therefore, urging you to make the document, the "Delhi Commitment"attached herewith be circulated by you to each of your club members, each Rotary leader in your district be made aware of the commitment, each person to become aware of the commitment he or she has to fulfill.  Thus, the document the "DelhiCommitment" is not just a piece of paper, it is an honour that we have to keep.

In the closing, let me thank you once again for making the Polio Summit 2012 a historic occasion.

Warm greetings and regards.

Delhi Commitment. (Please click here to view/download and share with others)

Congratulations. India is Polio Free

WHO takes India's name off polio endemic countries list
India, which has been polio-free for over a year now, was taken off the list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organisation. This announcement was made by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad at the polio summit 2012 in New Delhi on 25th February in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Azad said he has received a letter this morning stating that the "WHO has taken India's name off the list of polio endemic countries in view of the remarkable progress that we have made during the past one year."

There were only four countries in the WHO endemic list, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

After being removed from the list, India will have to remain polio free for the next two years to achieve the polio-free status with concerted efforts and an emergency preparedness and response plan, WHO representative in India Natela Menabde said.

The Prime Minister, while lauding the achievement complimented the government officials and Rotary for this massive success.  Singh said, "This gives us hope that we can finally eradicate polio not only from India but from the face of the earth."

Though many countries have achieved this goal, every country is still under the threat of polio as long as the virus existed, she warned.

Rotarians must keep up extra vigil and continue with vaccination efforts for next two years to ensure that polio virus does not enter the country again. 

Prime Minister opens Polio Summit tomorrow

Prime Minister of India S. Manmohan Singh shall be inaugurating the Polio Summit that opens tomorrow at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
It is for the first time that a joint summit by Government of India and Rotary International is being organised.
This is a significant event for all the Rotarians...and in fact, the entire humanity on this planet.
In India we have just completed one year when not a single polio case has been registered.
Overall, the annual number of polio cases have diminished by more than 99 percent since the initiative was launched by Rotary in 1988, when polio infected about 3,50,000 children every year.
Through Rotary efforts and active participation of the governments around the world, more than two billion children have been immunized in 122 countries, preventing five million cases of paralysis and 2,50,000 deaths.
At this stage, today, we require much more concerted endeavours to keep the status-quo...maintain the zero polio-case level, which alone can ensure a polio-free world for our children.


. 

How close to eradicating polio?

We are very CLOSE. All that is needed is...YOU.

Congratulations on First Year of Polio-free India

Here's a message from our RI President Kalyan Banerjee as we completed one year of polio free India. But it is the time for every Rotarian to make sure that the next two years remain polio free by stepping up our efforts in generating awareness, reaching out to the unreached population, sensitising them, and making sure that every child under 5 years receives the magic touch of Rotary through polio drops.


Rotary celebrates India’s first polio-free year. from Rotary International on Vimeo.

Car Rally of Rotarians for Polio-Free India reach Chandigarh

In order to generate awareness about polio eradication drive, a nation-wide awareness rally of six Rotarians in two cars, reached Chandigarh. 

The two cars were flagged of on December 11 from Kochi for a 63 days trip covering 23 states and 18,500 kilometres will culminate at a Rotary conference in Coimbatore in February 2012.

They were received by Rotarians of local Clubs and senior Rotarians including District Governor Manpreet Singh Gandhoke. 

On their way from Ludhiana they were greeted by Rotarians at Morinda, SAS Nagar, and later of all tricity at the Rotary House. 

The team comprised of Rtn. Georgekutty Kariyanappally, Rtn. Anil Kumar, Rtn. Krishna Moorthy, Rtn. K R Rajan, Rtn. Shylesh and Rtn. Sunil, who have taken the initiative as part of the Rotary’s commitment to make India a polio-free country.

They will be staying in the houses of local Rotarians before being flagged off for Delhi on Monday morning.

In New Delhi, the team along with World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNESCO officials, will call on the President, Mrs Pratibha Patil and the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh.

At several places school children will hold rallies to welcome the nation-wide rally. Team leader Georgekutty said the Rotary Clubs are taking this initiative as part of their commitment to make India a polio-free country.

This is the crucial time for India since it is completing one year of polio-free India on 13th January 2012 and the need now is to be more vigilant and cautious to ensure that it does not recur. 

Are you ready to End Polio?

As we come closer to the eradication of polio from our country, with only 1 case reported so far in last six months, it is time to sit up and be extra vigilant, extra cautious, and more active in ensuring that the polio virus does not return.
The Emergency Preparedness Plan is what Rotary is working out with the government to be ready to combat in the eventuality of a polio outbreak. Our areas are more at risk with more migrations, and the need is to identify the migrants, sensitise them, and immunise the children travelling with them.
Yesterday, the Punjab PolioPlus Task Force, comprising of 24 senior Rotarians with Rotary International Director Yash Pal Das as Advisor, and PDG Shubh Karn Gupta as Chairman-Convenor along with Dr. Dinesh Singh from WHO and Dr. Balwinder Singh, State Immunisation Officer, Punjab, met at Chandigarh Judicial Academy to thrash out the immediate plans.
Past Rotary International President Rajendra K. Saboo who had all along been a great votary and driver of polio movement in the world, said that Rotarians, perhaps, feel that we are done with polio and "we're almost there".  "Almost", he emphasised, "is the most dangerous terminology that is leading us to complacency, and almost does not mean the completion of the task at hand".  He urged the Rotary leaders to engage Rotarians more and more in the task of keeping the pressure on, on the society, on the state agencies, on various other stock holders, so that any child carrying the virus gets detected at the early stages and reported.
Rtn. Yash Das said that for the intensified eradication activities planned until 2012, there is a global deficit of Rs.2992 crores, and hence continued financial support by Rotarians is a must.
He also pointed out that there is poor response to NIDs and approximately 60 percent of the children get covered despite massive efforts and in the next two days 40 percent uncovered children are reached out through door-to-door campaigns, which should be tackled by Rotarians.
The Task Force identified certain key areas in which Rotarians must intensify their efforts and involve themselves throughout the year, including :

• Developing and managing communication plan and ensuring better visibility through multi-pronged campaign
• Help in the Emergency Preparedness Plan and conducting mock drills to manage an eventuality
• Recognise doctors/revenue districts reporting maximum cases of AFP
• Organising media sensitization workshop
• Identifyication and reaching out to migratory population

Every Club, every Rotarian must come forward to make a difference and ensure that no child is left out.

Make a Change, Save the Life!

Many of you might recognise these Rotarians who had been a part of the NID team from US led by Noelle. The ABC News, one of the leading news channels in US, reported the visit of this team. A must watch...look at the passion which drives these Rotarians from abroad in India to ensure that polio gets kicked out of here...and our world. Dr Basser who was part of the NID team last year shares his experience of his visit to India.
Click here to watch the ABC News story.

The fight is not yet over!

Just get set for another round of attack on polio virus.  SNID has been scheduled for Sunday, 27th March. So be ready for action.

Major task before every Rotarians is : 
a. Whenever and wherever you see a 5 years old, check out the mark on the little finger to see whether the child has received the polio drops or not.
b. Especially check your neighbourhood. Check out the child of your servant, the gardner, the dhobi around the corner, the labour in a house being constructed nearby or the settlements of labourers around the buildings under construction, the brick kilns.
c. Check out the children with nomad parents. You can find them in plenty on the Sector 21, Sector 22, Sector 34, Sector 15, and Sector 17. Have they been immunised?
d. Mark out such places where you think such families are there, and ensure on the 27th March that you take the team of paramedics with the polio dose, to all these settlements to ensure that they receive the drops.
e. Ensure coverage of people in transit. Man all the entries and exits to the city, request people to stop, check if there is a 5 years old or smaller child inside, and give the polio drop.
This is the only way we can ensure that polio gets wiped out from our country.

Polio Warriors flagged off

It's been a proud moment today when two Rotaractors of our Rotaract Club of Chandigarh, were flagged off by Past Rotary International President Rajendra K. Saboo from Hans Raj Public School, Panchkula, where the District RYLA also culminated, for their 8000kms round-trip across the country to engage people in Rotary's fight against polio.
Rtr. Gaurav Gupta is final year engineering student of UIET, Panjab University pursuing BioTechnology and Rtr. Deepak Sharma is a first year BA student of DAV College, Chandigarh.
You can encourage them, guide them, and respond to their travelogue entries on our blog : http://poliowarriors3080.blogspot.com. 
You can check out their itinerary and the route map on the blog too. 
These 'Polio Warriors' left today for Delhi in the afternoon, and on the way were received warmly by the Rotarians of Derabassi. They have safely reached Delhi tonight.
Tomorrow morning they will be flagged off from Delhi and via Agra they would rest for the night at Kanpur on Day 2.

Let's spread light!

Make this Diwali
more bright, more joyful, more sfe
for the children of our world!

Let’s step up our fight to end Polio
and protect our children forever!

Fight Against Polio must continue!

What are we doing to eradicate polio? The biggest challenge before us is for each one of us to contribute to the Rotary Foundation to urgently complete the target of USD200 million that qualifies us to get Bill & Milinda Gates Foundation contribution. Luckily, Rotarians around the world have raised USD140 million. Yet, there is much more to be achieved.
Our District 3080 launched a fund-raising campaign "Children for Children", where school children in schools around the District are reaching out to the community to raise funds. More details can be had from DG Madhukar Malhotra or me.
We have been going around the schools and sensitising them about what Rotary is doing. Surprisingly, not very many know about Rotary's role. It's time each one of us reach out, share the facts about Rotary's contribution to this entire global campaign to eradicate polio from the face of this earth.
Here's a video produced by Rotary International and released last year on World Polio Day, i.e. 24th October 2009. It is interesting...informative...and possibly you might meet the Rotarians you know. How many did you spot? Check out.

Polio remains top priority with Ray Klinginsmith

District governors-elect got their first glimpse of the 2010-11 presidential emphases during the second plenary session of the 2010 International Assembly.

Polio eradication and outreach to youth and young adults top RI President-elect Ray Klinginsmith's "to-do" list. Also featured are the Future Vision Plan's six areas of focus:

* Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
* Disease prevention and treatment
* Water and sanitation
* Maternal and child health
* Basic education and literacy
* Economic and community development

NID Visit Video

The group of volunteers from various countries who were with us in January for the NID returned home and have numerous pleasant memories to share with everyone back home.  Many of us had the opportunity to host them in our homes; many of us moved around with them immunising little children against polio.  Here's a video to refresh your memories of this visit. Just click here and enjoy. 

Polio: Every Rotarian's Commitment to Every Child

As a Rotarian we have a commitment. A commitment that we made to the children of the world, and the generation to come, that we will rid this earth of Polio.  Most of the world is already free...thanks to the concerted effort that the Rotarians have put together. Our country, unfortunately, remains one of the four countries in the world, which have yet to kick it out and protect our children. 

It is time for each one of us...for every Rotarian...for every member in a Rotary family, to rise once again and let not the efforts of 20 years of hard work go waste. 

We are almost there. We can do it.  Being a Rotarian it is a great responsibility that we had taken upon ourselves and we just cannot step back and hope that someone would be out there on Sunday morning to administer the drop anyway.  Who someone? It is only YOU who can make the difference, and no one else. If YOU get out of your bed on Sunday morning, say your prayers, express your gratitude to the God for blessing you with all His bounties and good health, and dress up to be there in the morning with the firm belief that YOU would check it out every where and anywhere, whether a child under five, has taken the polio drop. If not, YOU will have complete the task. 

Count the number of children you have touched today and administered polio drops. Count the number of children you have checked whether his finger had the permanent mark assuring that the child has been protected.  And even if you are able to do it even for one child...it will make a tremendous amount of difference to the lives of the children. Because we hope that on Sunday, YOU will not be alone.  There are Rotarians from USA, Canada, Cayman Island, Jamaica, and Australia, who have flown in just for two days to be a part of this world-wide movement, to join you, and reach out to the maximum number of children who are at risk. 

Let's be there. YOU will be there I'm sure. Because YOU are a Rotarian...who stands by the word.