Children in India show their pinky fingers painted purple for a few days to indicate that they have received oral polio vaccination. Billions of children's lives around the world have been saved or spared the crippling, lifetime burden of polio since Rotary took the lead over 30 years ago in ridding the world of polio. We are almost there, but it will still take a massive effort of professional expertise and volunteer time and an estimated US$1.5 billion more to reach that goal. Rotary District 5040 Past District Governors, Chris Offer and Penny Offer, who are members of the Ladner club, explain the scope of the global campaign and their involvement in it.
Since 1988, when there were 350,000 cases of polio around the world in 125 countries, Rotary has led, and has been joined by the World Health Organization,
governments, including Canada's, and foundations, including The Rotary Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to eliminate polio from the
world and make sure it is. So far this year there are three final countries battling the disease and only 13 cases reported.
Chris Offer gives oral vaccine to a 12-hour old newborn in a village of India | Penny Offer colours the pinky finger of children in purple to indicate they have received the vaccination | Millions of vaccinators walk through villages, house-to- house in countries still threatened by polio or its return |
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To prepare for, and hold, just one single polio immunization day in India alone, over the course of five days takes an enormous effort and supply of resources. There are two immunization days in India each year. Other countries also have similar immunization days. | ||
A polio immunization team walks through each bus arriving on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan to immunize any children 5 or under for polio | The Polio Emergency Operations Centre in Nigeria is another aspect in the front line fight against polio | Penny Offer, right, learns about the battle to end polio in regions of Pakistan |
| Chris Offer, centre, with health officials in South Sudan | Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, centre, is recognized for the Canadian government's significant contributions to the end polio campaign, by 2015-16 Rotary President Ravi Ravindran and former Rotary President, Canadian Wilf Wilkerson | The Government of Canada has continued to provide substantial support of the global end polio campaign, as acknowledged by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was speaking at the June 2018 Rotary International Conference in Toronto |
