END POLIO NOW - OC Info Table (24 April 2010)
Posted by Sue Burns
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Rotary remains committed to eradicating Polio from the face of the earth.... "Hands Across the District" on 24 April encourages all Rotary Clubs to help raise awareness of Rotary in your local community and help to End Polio NOW. Pending approval from the City of OC, we hope to have an information table on the boardwalk to help raise awareness of Polio Eradication. Our Rotary District is helping clubs with PR and advertising of events across South Jersey on 24 April.
Last year the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded US$255 million to Rotary International in the global effort to eradicate polio, bringing the total committed by Rotary and the Gates Foundation to $555 million.
There are four countries where the wild poliovirus is endemic -- Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Polio eradication has been Rotary's top priority since 1985, with more than $1.2 billion contributed to the effort. Gates praised Rotary for providing the volunteers, advocates, and donors who have helped bring about a 99 percent decline in the number of polio cases. "The world would not be where it is without Rotary, and it won't get where it needs to go without Rotary," he said.