Rotary marks its gift to the world

By Jim Mynard
THE highestranking Rotarian to address the Rotary Club of Berwick Rotary International (RI), director elect Ian Riseley, said there were now less than 1500 cases of polio in the world.
Mr Riseley will become a RI director on Saturday, 1 July.
He told the club’s Thursday, 4 May dinner meeting that Rotary faced a major challenge in its quest for total eradication of the disease.
This challenge was despite the enormous success in bringing the number down from 350,000 cases.
“Our efforts have reduced the number of new polio cases worldwide from 350,000 in 1988 to less than 1500 in 2005.
“That’s a lot of children who do not have their lives ruined by this dreaded disease.”
He said, however, that there were difficulties in dealing with remaining cases. Polio is a virus without a visa.
“It can easily be carried around the world to afflict children anywhere who have not been immunised.”
He said Rotary had invested US$580 million on its polio eradication program and also provided volunteers on the ground to facilitate the immunisation of children.
“On one day in 1998, Rotary held a National Immunisation Day in India, where more than 130 million children were given the polio vaccine.
He said this was done in one day and was mind blowing in its scale.
“Rotary clubs everywhere have joined this campaign, and the Rotary club of Berwick can be justly proud of its ongoing support for this great public health initiative.
“It is their gift to the children of the world,” he said.