The Rotary Club of North Jackson celebrated World Polio Day at its October 23, 2018 meeting. Club members Suman Das and Don Roberts headlined the program with a slideshow highlighting Polio, its first diagnosis, its effects, and the progress in eliminating the disease in the past 30 years. They emphasized that today polio is present in just 3 global countries: Afganistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria for a reduction of 99.9%. The meeting was also highlighted by the Madison Ridgeland Academy (MRA) cheerleaders leading club members in cheers celebrating Rotary’s work in the dramatic reduction and encouraging them to continue the effort to “End Polio Now.” The following photos are from the meeting. Suman Das is in the first photo at the podium, followed by Don Roberts in the second and the MRA cheerleaders in the next two”
Dr. Das’ presentation identified that polio was first diagnosed in 1894 and that in 1988, there were 350,000 cases annually. By 2017, the number of global cases had been decreased to 17. Rotary, with its partners, has raised about US$4 billion and an additional US$1.5 billion is needed to complete the task.
We thank Suman, Don and the MRA cheerleaders for their parts in reviewing and celebrating the success of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) and pointing out what remains to be accomplished. In his concluding remarks, Don discussed the role that our club has played in the GPEI and pointed out that part of our dues each quarter goes to the initiative. To date, Rotary International estimates that the Rotary Club of North Jackson has contributed about $50,00 to eradicating polio.